Finding Home With You
by CaptainSwan123
Summary: (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. Can they escape the Evil Queen, Snow White?
1. Prologue

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** So most of the time I don't even like AU stories. Like at all.

But I literally cannot get enough of the Lieutenant Duckling!AU. I mean really it's not completely AU, right? Since it happened in the story that Rumple had the Author write?

Well this fanfic is going to be based off of that episode. Only with a few twists. It might seem as though it's just following the episode at first, but stick around to find out where it goes.

I am not used to writing in the third person POV, but I feel like it's a lot more sophisticated, so bare with me as I attempt to write this fanfic in third person, but from Killian's perspective.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 2,145

* * *

Prologue

To say that Killian Jones was impressed by the skills the young lad had displayed, would be an understatement. In all his years, Killian had never known as much about a ship as this Henry lad, and the boy couldn't be but 15. Younger, perhaps, but not being accustomed to the company of children made Killian an amateur in his age estimation.

And yet, the most surprising thing of all was that this Henry lad seemed to think Killian had taught him to sail.

 _I had a great teacher….you._

Killian wished he was worthy of the pride and adoration that shone in the lad's eyes when he said those words. Wished he had taught the lad to sail. Wished he knew how to sail himself. But all he knew was how to swab the deck.

 _Not anymore,_ he had thought, tightening the rigging of the main sail with some difficulty. _Now I know a thing or two, myself. What the lad's taught me._

The thought lifted his spirits a bit. Brought back a bit of courage and pride that he previously thought had been driven completely out of him in his years sailing under Black Beard's authority. He had glanced over at the lad, who was tending to the ship with great care and confidence, and smiled. The first genuine smile in years.

But then the boy suggested "taking out" the black night. And Killian was once again reminded of just how little of a man he was.

At least Henry's idea had saved him the embarrassment of backing down from yet another fight. Coward that he was, he was more than willing to go with any other plan than fighting.

Now here he stands, waiting for the boy to return with his mother, this Emma lass. He has to fight down a rising blush when the thought of rescuing a beautiful damsel in distress takes him by surprise. Instead of thinking of the woman about to descend the stairs, he tries to think about the lad's confusing words when they had tricked the guard.

 _What in the world is a Wookie?_

And then a body's crashing into his and he instinctively grabs onto her waist to catch her. And he's gazing into the most beautiful set of green eyes he's ever seen. His mind seems to go blank and there's nothing but this stunning woman and the surprise that's so apparent on her face. Then it changes. And she's grinning like she's finally seen the sun for the first time in years.

But she's looking right at him.

He can't help the smile that overcomes his face. She's too stunning, and too close. He blushes and looks down, away from the stranger's eyes that have him completely enamored in mere seconds. That's when he realizes just how close they are, that he's still holding onto her from when she crashed into him.

And he doesn't want to pull away. He loves the way she clings to him. The way their bodies seem to fit together. The way her presence causes his heart to race and his breath to quicken, like a bloody fish out of water. But in a delightfully pleasant way.

"Killian, this is my mom, Emma Swan. Mom, Killian," Henry's voice pulls him towards the surface, but he's still drowning in her eyes.

He tries to pull himself together and act like a gentleman. "Um, uh yeah. Pleasure," he manages to get out in a gruff voice. He's embarrassed, to say the least, but he's encouraged by the twinkle she gets in her eyes.

He pulls away from her slightly, putting a little distance between them, and extends his good hand. She shakes it, but does so with a peculiar look on her face.

"Yeah. Right. We need to…get going." He's not entirely certain, but it seems as though she's just as reluctant to release his hand as he is hers. But she does so nonetheless. "We've got a wedding to stop."

And then she's hurrying off, snatching up the folds of her dress in such a fashion that it appears to him as though she's irritated at the length and weight of the garment. She manages to somehow look uncomfortable and graceful at the same time.

It isn't until the boy comes back to retrieve him that he realizes he's still standing there, starring at where she used to be, reliving the last few moments and imaging a lifetime of losing himself in her glorious green eyes and tantalizing smile.

He runs along behind the lad and steps out into the sunlight just in time to see the lass board the Jolly Roger with an alarming sense of familiarity. He's suddenly struck with embarrassment again and ducks his head to avoid the flush on his neck and ears from being seen. If the lad knows so much about sailing, he's almost certain the young mother will, as well. And it's not the pride of wanting to know more than this member of the fairer sex that causes his embarrassment, but his sudden overwhelming desires to impress her. And how can he impress a woman with so much more confidence and skill than he.

With quite a few suggestive orders and corrections from both Henry and Emma, much to his chagrin, Killian manages to help get the ship sailing away from the island prison. For a reason unbeknownst to him, the pair seems quite comfortable and in fact familiar with leaving Killian at the helm to steer them back to safety. Whilst confused with the faith they so quickly entrust upon him, Killian feels a bit of pride stirring inside him. To be trusted by this pair, both of whom seem completely capable of sailing the ship themselves, is a privilege he feels he hasn't earned, yet. And right then and there, he vows to do all in his power to become worthy of their trust.

From the corner of his eye he sees the lass approaching, which makes his heart beat faster and his throat run dry.

She waltzes right up to him, stopping only inches away from his side, the hem of her dress brushing against his leg as it sways back and forth from the momentum of her walk, and he has to force himself to turn towards her slowly, so as not to seem too eager.

"Thank you for your help, Killian," her silky smooth voice caresses his name. She says it with such familiarity, with such affection that he feels his palm grow sweaty and his ears burn.

It's been such a long time since anyone used his given name and now two strangers had in just under an hour. Sure the lad had used it a few times, but it was different when she said it. This woman didn't just speak his name, she gave meaning to it. With just that one word, she scrubbed away the years of torment and ridicule. She rebuilt him with honor and courage. She expressed adoration and understanding.

He's overcome by a sudden wave of emotions for a lass he had barely met not a quarter hour ago.

The pounding in his chest seems to create a lodge in his throat.

 _As if talking to her wasn't bloody hard enough._

"Um, yeah, of course," he stumbles over his words. Feeling like a bloody idiot, but unable to get his blasted tongue under control. "I'm pleased that you regained your, uh, freedom."

She must think he's a complete imbecile.

But once again, she surprises him by smiling at his words. "Me too. Unfortunately, it's not gonna last unless you put some distance between that tower and us before the guard wakes up."

Her tone is light, but he can see the worry in her eyes as she glances behind them at the tower. He follows her eyes, trying to scan the island for any apparent danger.

Not seeing any, he turns back to the Swan girl, "Why?"

She glances back over at him, that same peculiar look on her face that he had seen earlier returning. "Because that was not any ordinary Black Knight. Her name is Lily. She's dangerous."

"I don't understand. What's so bad about this Lily person?" He asks, just as a loud crashing sound echoes behind them. He turns to see a bloody dragon emerging from the tower.

Emma's attention turns to her son immediately. "Henry, get below now!"

He can hear the lad scurrying below deck, but Killian can't seem to tear his eyes off of the massive beast less than a kilometer away.

"I need you to load the cannon with a chain shot," he hears the lass yell. But it isn't until she turns on him, drawing closer, before he snaps out of his shocked state. "Come on! Now!"

He does as she says, thanking the gods that he had recently been tasked with maintaining the upper deck cannon ammunition and therefore knows where the chain shots are kept. Hands shaking, he loads the cannon and aims at the massive terror.

"Hold your fire until I tell you," Emma shouts, stepping towards the end of the boat. She begins waving her arms in the air over her head. "Lily, over here! Hey! Come on, Lily! Come on!"

Alarmed, Killian takes his eyes off the dragon and glances over at the mad woman, encouraging the fire-breathing monster to target in on their ship. She glances at him with so much confidence and hope that he can't help but put his trust in her.

"Now!" She yells. He gladly obliges, quick to stop the flying terror from advancing any further on them.

The dragon falls out of the sky and Killian is rewarded with a heavenly sound. He turns and sees Emma laughing in relief and Killian knows he'll do whatever he can to hear that sound over and over again.

"Well, that was close," Killian admits, breathing out a sigh of relief himself. He takes out his flask and allows himself a celebratory swig. He hands it over to the lass, "Cheers. You did it, Swan."

"We did it," she responds with a smile that causes his ears to grow hot once more. She takes a swig from the flask as well, but he's surprised to see disgust cross her features. "What is that?"

He reaches out to receive the flask, "It's goat milk."

"Where's your rum?" She asks, shocking him quite thoroughly. She seems so certain that he would carry such a vile drink with him. Did she think him a dishonorable man?

"I'm allergic. Never touched the stuff," he responds neutrally.

She sighs and softly mumbles, "Of course you are."

Instead of questioning this abnormal response, he attempts to cipher the young mother's trust in him. Who would put their complete trust in a stranger with her lad's life on the line?

"Can I ask you a question?" He asks timidly. When she nods encouragingly, he continues, "You trusted me with your life just now. Why?"

She gets that peculiar look again, but it's accompanied with a frown this time. And he's finally able to place it. She knows something he doesn't and she's upset by this.

"It's complicated," she finally stated. "Might take a while."

Glancing around at the wide open sea surrounding them, Killian attempts at humor, hoping to lift her spirits and maybe merit one of her gorgeous smile. "Your schedule's pretty clear."

He does in fact earn a small smile and it tugs on his heart, eliciting one of his own smiles in response.

"Okay," she laments. "Let's first work on your fighting skills. Then we've got to help Regina stop that wedding."

So he might not get his answers right away, but he can be patient.

"That might prove a tad more difficult than you'd think. I'm afraid I don't carry any weapons. How am I to learn to fight?" He admits, ears burning with shame.

"This is the Jolly Roger!" She responds, an understanding smile on her face. "I'm sure we can find weapons somewhere."

She disappears below deck, yelling out to her lad and leaving Killian behind the wheel.

He shakes his head, wondering just how he got himself in his current position. But he can't find it in himself to regret any action that led him to this course. Not after seeing the depths of those green eyes and the joy behind that wide grin. He can't find it in himself to do anything but plan how to unlock the secrets in her eyes. To entice dozens more of her melodious laughs. To maybe see just how those tantalizing lips feel…

No. He cannot entertain the wish of entering into a courtship with her. He can't ever be worthy of the Swan girl or her lad. No matter how badly he wishes he could be.


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** This chapter will be from Emma's perspective.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's effort to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 2351

* * *

Chapter 1

She had been through this before. Seeing Hook without him _seeing_ her.

This was different than last time, though. Last time, she was distracting the infamous Captain Hook, all the time knowing her Hook was with her, waiting for her, plotting with her to get back home.

He hadn't been _her_ Hook then, though. That didn't come until later. After the portal back home, the simple "Aye" that meant so much more than words could express, the kiss that attempted to express what words couldn't, the Ice Queen that tried to take him from her.

Looking back, Emma supposes she hadn't really realized just how completely he was hers until mere days before he was taken from her again by the Author's new story. She spent so long trying to convince herself she didn't need to belong to anyone that she failed to see the truth. Killian belonged to her just as much as she did to him. He continuously showed her just how much control she had over him, that he was willing to go as slow as she wanted as long as they were together and that he couldn't fathom being anywhere else but with her in Storybrooke. And it may have taken her a while to realize it, thanks to her stubborn streak, but she now knew just how much she desperately needed and wanted him to be hers.

Of course, she barely had time to revel in her acceptance of their relationship before he was ripped from her once again.

But she was determined to get him back. The real Killian. _Her_ Killian.

For now, she could appreciate this Killian. This Killian was similar to her Killian, much more than Captain Hook had been. Captain Hook had been rough, lost in the darkness, incapable of love or any other emotion besides hate and lust.

This Killian was softer, capable of emotion which shone in his eyes whenever she met his cerulean blue gaze. This Killian looked at her in such a similar way to her Killian; she saw the same adoration in his eyes. But she couldn't help but miss the love she had grown used to in her Killian's devoted gaze; even though it had taken most of the time he had known her for her to get over being scared of such devotion.

This Killian had an innocence to him that called her to him. It seemed to her that this was her Killian with all his walls torn down. Without the smirk and the innuendos to hide behind.

But he also lacked her Killian's confidence and self pride, and that cut at her heart. To see the man she loved at such a low point was difficult to swallow. Sure, she was going back to her own Killian and this Killian with his insecurities would never exist except as a faint memory, when they succeeded at their task. But it was still hard to see. So as long as she was here, she was determined to help him gain back his gusto.

Plus, she couldn't stay away from that man even if she wanted to. Which she certainly didn't. A part of her felt guilty for teasing her Killian about Hook's predictable preference to her when they had been stuck in the past. She understood the draw now, since she'd given in to her feelings and her let walls down, or most of them anyway.

She marches up the stairs, pushing away the thoughts of her Killian.

She can't describe just how _beyond_ thankful she is for the change in wardrobe. After going below deck to find a few swords, she had searched high and low for a pair of freaking pants to wear. She'd done the whole trudge through the forest in a giant gown before, and she was not looking forward to doing it again. So instead she found a rather perfect fitting outfit and some boots. Her tangled hair had been pulled up in the ponytail that had once been her signature look, before Neal had stolen her innocence, in every sense of the phrase.

But there's no time to dwell on the past. She needs to focus if she's going to get herself and her kid home.

Stepping out into the sunlight, her eyes are immediately drawn to him. And her heart aches because for a moment it's almost like he's her Killian. He stands tall, cutting an impressive figure behind the wheel, hand and hook gently guiding the ship this way or that.

From this angle, where she stands on the main deck looking up at him, the innocence is gone. She sees a strong man, a strong captain. There's power in his stance and determination in his eyes. And complete awe in her heart.

She must have made a noise because his head snaps in her direction. His whole countenance changes when he sees her, reminding her that this is not her Killian.

His neck and ears flush red and he's quick to look anywhere but at her. His shoulders sag and his stance becomes a bit more awkward, more unsure of himself.

"Ah, uh, well, lass," he struggles, rubbing the back of his neck in that nervous way she had grown to love.

"I found us some swords," she rescues him from stumbling on any further. She already has hers in the scabbard strapped to the belt around her waist, and is holding his in her left hand.

She climbs up the set of stairs that lead to the helm. He's still not looking at her. Looking anywhere but her.

It takes her a while to realize what the issue is and once she does, she decides to take full advantage of the situation. This Killian was used to women who wore dresses.

 _Did any female in the Enchanted Forest even own pants?_ She vaguely remembers a picture from the storybook of her mother wearing pants, but only to fight in. It must be strange for Killian to see her new attire. But she can't fight the urge to see him a bit more flustered. She loves the effect she has on him, on all versions of him.

She draws closer to him, finally catching his attention. The minute their eyes lock he gets that same lost look he had when she crashed into him in the tower. The same lost look her Killian sometimes gets. Her Killian once told her that he loves to get lost in her eyes, even equated it to getting lost in the beauty of the sea.

She has to fight down a blush at the memory.

"What's the matter, Captain? Swan got your tongue?" She teases, sidling up close to him with a smirk on her face.

The irony of their role reversal is not lost on her. In fact, it only spurs her on further, exacting her revenge for all his teasing in the past. This Killian might not remember their history, but when the curse is broken and they're back home, her Killian will remember the time he was bested at his own game.

She ducks under his arm and places herself in between him and the wheel, their bodies brushing against each other every now and then with the gentle sway of the ship over the waves. Part of her revels in the embarrassed and nervous mess in front of her. But a bigger part of her wishes he would put his arms around her, would brush her hair behind his ear and cock that devilish eyebrow at her.

But his arms stay extended on either side of her, still gripping on to the wheel that was pressing against her back whenever the ship's rocking caused her to tip back on her heels.

"I'll take that as a yes," she murmurs at his silence, allowing her right hand to trail slowly up his left arm, running up to his shoulder and finally stopping as her grip latches onto his lapel. She grasps onto him, holding herself firm against him instead of allowing herself to rock with the ship. "Now about those fighting lessons."

His eyes widen in a comical way as she releases her grasp and then wraps her arms around his waist in a tantalizingly slow manner, pressing her front completely against his. She giggles as he flushes even darker, before wrapping the sword belt around him that she had been holding in the hand that wasn't occupied with teasing him.

She leans back slightly to buckle the belt, allowing her hands to linger at his waist longer than was probably reasonable. Emma takes the moment to just be close to him, memorizing the way his firm body feels beneath her fingers before pulling away.

Chastising herself in her mind for getting distracted, she tries to focus back on the light teasing air she had assumed before.

"You, um, want to teach m-me to fight on, uh, the ship?" Killian struggles to get out, looking as though he was gasping for breath at her closeness. He can't seem to look straight at her for more than a few seconds.

Placing her hand on his cheek in the hopes of comforting him, she lightly pulls his face down to look at her. She can't help but stroke her thumb lightly over his cheek when he tentatively leans into her hand after a few seconds.

"Would you rather we do it on land?" She asks quietly.

His eyebrows shoot up and a dark blush covers his neck and ears. He sputters for a moment or two, seeming shocked and Emma is confused by his reaction.

She thinks about what she had just said and then lightly slaps the hand that's cradling his face against his cheek before resting it there once more. "Cheeky man, I was talking about the fighting lessons," she corrects him, fighting a blush of her own.

"Oh, ah, yes. Yes, I would rather, um, do those on land," he forces out, bringing his hook up to tug on Emma's wrist and bring her hand away from his face. She nods to acknowledge his words, but can't help the pain that comes with him pushing her away.

She knows he can see the disappointment and rejection on her face at this action, so she uses the opportunity of his left arm being at his side to slip out from in between him and the wheel. It took her long enough to let her walls down to her Hook, she isn't ready to let them down in front of this Hook. She doesn't want him to think she's weak and needy, so she begins to walk away, down the small set of stairs to the main deck and towards the staircase that led below deck.

"Swan," he calls out after her, causing her heart to ache at the familiar pet name.

She steels herself and then turns to look at him. He's a few feet away, having followed after her a bit, and he looks regretful and scared. She just stares at him, hoping beyond hope.

"Swan, I, well," he stammers, looking away from her. He closes his eyes for a brief second and then glances up at her again. He closes the distance between them and reaches for her left hand with his right. He tentatively holds the back of her hand in his palm for a few seconds, before looking up at her to gauge her reaction. She doesn't know exactly what her face must look like right now, since her emotions are in a bit of a whirlwind at the moment, but it must have been enough for him because he guides her hand up to his face and holds it there with his own, tilting his head into her cupped hand slightly.

She releases a breath of relief that she hadn't known she had been holding. Her other hand quickly joins the first and his hand drops from her own as she holds his face gently in his hands for the first time in what's seemed like ages. His hand and hook come to rest very lightly and very tentatively against her waist. She can't help the joy that overcomes her.

She tilts Killian's face forward just as she does her own, allowing their foreheads to rest against each other and their noses to just barely brush softly against one another. She's grinning like a mad woman and she's got her eyes closed in a failed attempt to keep the tears of joy at bay.

When one escapes, Killian surprises her by catching it gently on the edge of his hook before replacing the hook on her waist, more sure of himself this time. Another he wipes away sweetly with the pad of his thumb, which ends up staying there, swiping back and forth in a comforting manner as his hand cups her face, causing just a bit of space between them once more.

With her forehead no longer resting against his, she can now see the crease of concern that has formed on his brow. She gives a light laugh and removes one of her hands from his face to wipe away the remaining tears.

"I'm fine, Killian, really," she says soothingly, her free hand resting on his wrist, allowing her thumb to rub circles on the back of the hand that is cupping her cheek.

"Mom?" Henry's yell from below deck has Killian jumping and attempting to pull away.

Emma just holds onto him for a moment longer, meeting his panicked eyes with her calm and sure ones. She smiles sweetly at him, before pulling his hand from her face and using the hand still on his face to turn his head to the side, giving her the opportunity to place a gentle, lingering kiss on his cheek before whispering, "He's seen us in more, shall we say _compromising_ positions."

She saunters away from him after that, feeling light headed from the joy of being close to her true love once more, even if he wasn't completely himself at the moment.


	3. Chapter 2

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** Let me know what you guys think so far! Back to Killian's point of view.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 3,113

* * *

 _Bloody hell._

His mind simply could not stop reeling. He had spent the past quarter hour reliving every moment of the most exhilarating and lovely interaction in his entire life. But nothing sent him blushing quite like her parting words.

Just what had she meant by more compromising positions? And why did she seem okay with her son seeing them so close? He was, after all, a mere stranger, though neither son nor mother acted as though he were.

The more he thinks on it, the more confused he becomes. Though one thing is achingly clear, he is without a doubt falling in the most potent kind of love with Emma Swan in the quickest means possible.

He tightens his grip on the wheel, willing her tantalizing voice to stop whispering in his ear. He'll have time to relive all of these moments later, when she takes her son and leaves. For now he needs to soak in every moment he has with her while he can.

"Hey, Killian," Henry's voice pulls him out of his thoughts. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Why, of course, lad. Though, I can't promise I'll have the answer," he responds, trying to keep a light tone to mask his insecurities.

"Believe me, you're the only one who can have the answer," Henry mutters as he walks closer. The boy was just as mysterious as his young mother. "This may be a bit personal, but do you have feelings for my mom?"

Killian opens his mouth to respond, but unable to form any words, closes it once more. He clears his throat and tries again, but his mind is reeling too much to think clearly. _I must look like a bloody fish, gaping like an idiot._

"I'll take that as a yes," Henry says with a smirk, causing Killian's ears to burn. "I thought as much, with the way you look at her."

Killian was sure he'd catch flames any second now, with how hot his ears felt. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, lad," he was able to choke out, starring pointedly at the horizon and avoiding eye contact.

"It's okay, you know. We've talked about it before," his voice was soft as the lad tried to soothe Killian the way the Swan girl had.

And there he was, talking about some past Killian had never lived. Why did this pair seem to think they had history with him when he had only met them today?

Killian looked at the boy, and couldn't help it when his voice rose, both in pitch and volume, "What is it with you two? You keep speaking of things that haven't happened. I don't know what you're both bloody talking about half the time!"

"Killian," Emma's calming voice comes from behind him. He turns to see her climbing the last few steps onto the main deck and looking at him with sympathy in her eyes and he knows it's because of the wild confusion in his own. She places a hand on his bad arm, just above the crook of his elbow. It's comforting and exhilarating at the same time. Her touch sends sparks along his skin, yet cools the wild heat of confusion within. "Henry, take the helm," Emma commands, all the while maintaining eye contact with Killian.

He finds himself once more sinking into the most beautiful pool of green he could ever imagine. He can see her sympathy, her comforting nature, her determination, her…love?

That can't possibly be. A confident, strong, beautiful woman like Emma Swan could never love a sniveling coward like himself.

Then again, this extremely unpredictable woman continuously surprises him, as she does now when she slides her hand down his arm and holds his hook with her fingers, completely unbothered by the lack of limb. He can't help gaping down at her long, graceful fingers curled around the hard, cold metal so naturally.

She's no longer looking at him, but walking away, tugging him along behind her. He knows it must be frustrating to her, the way he blindly stumbles along, relying purely on her hand in his hook to keep him moving, but he is unable to bring himself out of his state of shock.

The Swan lass finally releases his hook and lightly pushes down on his shoulders. He looks around to see that she's brought him down to the Captain's cabin and has him sat on the bed. She turns and sits next to him, close enough for him to feel his tongue run dry. Their legs touch. Their arms touch. Their shoulders touch.

And then she wriggles her hand under his elbow and runs it down his forearm until her fingers once again wrap around his hook. And as if he isn't having a bloody hard enough time breathing as it is, she leans her head on his shoulder, her free hand resting in the crook of his arm.

He knows she can feel the way he's breathing hard, but he doesn't know how to stop. Not with her so close, so intimately close.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, causing his head to swivel to the side in order to get a good look at her.

"What for, love?" He asks gently, surprising himself with how even his voice is.

She removes her head from his shoulder, turning her head to look at him. "For not telling you everything. For being so secretive and just expecting you to do everything we asked. It isn't fair to you," she responds, her eyes slightly watering. She glances away, looking down at her fingers as they slide over the cool metal of his hook.

He's amazed by her familiarity with the harsh tool. She's not disgusted or afraid. She seems completely at ease, drawing small patterns on the hook as one might the palm of a hand.

"I don't blame you, lass," he reassures her, his hand coming up to cover hers where it lay on his arm.

At his touch, her head snaps up to look at him, surprise and hope in her eyes.

She sniffles once, before nodding. "Still, now that we have some time, I'd like to explain it all to you. If you'd like, I mean," she says tentatively.

He chuckles at her uncertainty and shakes his head. "Even Lily couldn't keep me away," he teases, smiling when her eyes twinkle and she grins.

"I'm not exactly sure where to start," she eventually admits, after chewing on her bottom lip for a few silent minutes.

"I find the beginning is usually a great place for starting," he replies cheekily, bumping his shoulder against hers as she struggles against a smile.

"That's just it," she responds, thoughtfully. "There really is no beginning. You see, I come from a different reality; well it's more like the reality I remember has been changed, rewritten. I'm confusing you even more, aren't I?" She questions when she sees his furrowed brow.

"No, I'm just trying to understand, love. Go on," he urges, wanting to hear more about this other reality.

"Right, well. There's a man called the Author and he's supposed to keep track of all things. Once one Author dies, it becomes another man's duty to take on the responsibilities of Author and keep track of all things and so on. But the most recent Author decided to stray from the path. Instead of just, you know, recording what he saw, he decided to change it all. He wrote us this story; well, him and the Dark One. His name is Rumpelstiltskin and he was determined to make all the villains' happy endings come true while leaving the heroes to suffer. He has a particular dislike for you, so he had the Author write you as a timid hand deck, instead of the proud captain you really are," she says, her eyebrows furrowing in anger and her voice turning bitter.

"Are you alright, love?" He asks, squeezing his hand around hers tighter.

"I'm sorry, it's just- Oh, Killian, it isn't fair. You deserve so much more than this. _You're_ supposed to be captain of the Jolly Roger, not Blackbeard. You're confident and daring and witty and a true hero. And Rumpelstiltskin took that all away from you. He took so much from so many. My parents especially. He took away their true love and their hope; he took away who they really are," she replies, tears flowing freely now.

He gently untangles his hook from her grasp and wraps that arm around her shoulders to provide some comfort. She immediately snuggles into him, turning to wrap her arms around his neck and holding herself against him as she cries into his shoulder. He knows he shouldn't be thinking of such things at the moment, but he loves the way her body fits into his, the way her mouth is so delectably close to his throat. Close enough to-

He forces himself to think only of comforting the young woman in his arms.

After her cries die down, he swallows hard and asks, "Who are your parents, love?"

"My mother is Snow White and my father is Prince Charming," she answers quietly against his neck.

He is barely able to suppress a gasp. Everyone knew of the Evil Queen's hate for her man-servant. And beyond that, how could this bright, positive, loving young woman have parents so dastardly? Or so young?

"And how do you know all of this? Don't get me wrong, love, I'm not doubting you. I merely wonder why you're the only one who seems to recall this other reality, as you call it."

She's quiet for a few more seconds, wiping away tears as she twists to face forward and lean the back of her head against his shoulder once more and while he misses the more intimate closeness they had only moments ago, he also revels in the comfort this simple position brings him.

"That was his way of making me miserable," she replies morosely. "You see, in our land I have magic. I have the purest magic possible, because I am the product of True Love, my parent's true love. And because of who I am, I've broken curses and saved our town multiple times. I'm known as the Savior, as ridiculous as that sounds. And Rumpelstiltskin had the author rob me of my magic, stick me in a land where everyone I love suffers one way or another and then let me keep my memories so I could watch their suffering and remember how it should be."

He's silent for a few minutes, simply tightening his arm around her at the emptiness in her voice. "Swan, I haven't the words to tell you how sorry I am."

She heaves in a dry sob at his words and turns to look at him.

"And your lad," he prompts in a whisper, when her gaze becomes too intense for him to bear.

"Henry is not from this land. The Enchanted Forest, I mean. He was born back in our world, in Storybrooke. When the Author rewrote the story, Henry wasn't included, because he's from the land without magic. I don't know how exactly he made it here, but I'm so grateful he did. He's brilliant, that kid. And I can't fix this without him," she says proudly.

He can see just how much she loves her son. And just how highly she thinks of him.

"And I can't fix it without you either," she continues, looking at him gratefully. "Henry was right to come and get you, there's practically no one else in this whole realm I'd trust to help us on this quest."

"Hey, mom?" Henry's voice comes from above, cutting off Killian before he can even think of how to respond to her confession.

Emma glances over to the stairs that lead to the main deck and then back at Killian, hesitating for a moment before placing another soft kiss on his cheek and then climbing the stairs.

Killian spends the rest of the ship ride sitting in the same spot, thinking over the latest encounter. Everything would make a bit more sense now, if he were to believe Emma's words. And for some reason he does, wholeheartedly. He has absolutely no reason to believe her, but he can find no doubt in his heart or mind. In fact, he not believes her, but he wishes it were true. And he wants to help get everything back to normal. He wants to become this proud, witty captain that Emma speaks so highly of. He wants to be worthy of the pride and adoration in her eyes. He wants to have the confidence to hold her and kiss her without her having to initiate the contact.

He wants to remember why such a daring, confident, able young woman would trust _him_ with her life and the life of her boy, not to mention the fate of her much loved family and townsfolk.

When he can hear the sounds of port, he makes his way on deck and helps his new companions dock the ship. Then they make their way towards town, making sure to steer clear of any black knights along their way.

"Henry, why don't you find us some food?" Emma suggests, quirking an eyebrow when her son smirks back at her.

Killian sees the interaction, but doesn't quite understand the blush on the young mother's face. The boy runs off though, shouting back something about protection which doesn't make much sense to Killian. _Shouldn't the mother be worrying about the child's safety and not the other way around?_

"I'm going to kill that punk," Emma mutters under her breath, avoiding eye contact with Killian as she hurries into a large, but less crowded alley way. "C'mon let's get working on your fighting. This sure is strange- I mean, me teaching you. You used to brag about how much better you were than me," she says, chuckling to herself as she slowly approaches him.

He tenses, loving her proximity, but unaware of what to do with himself while she's that close.

He clears his throat in an attempt to clear his mind, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, "You're telling me that…in this other reality, I'm an expert with such a weapon?"

She smirks and cocks an eyebrow, "You're a regular Jack Sparrow."

Confused at her words, he frowns slightly. "Is that good?"

She ignores his question, and responds with, "Here, let me show you how to use it."

He opens his mouth to protest or point out how she ignored his question, but she walks around behind him thoroughly destroying anything he might have said by pressing her small body against his back and wrapping one arm around him to grab his wrist. She guides his arm backwards to unsheathe the weapon and then pushes his hand upwards. The metal gleams in the sun, but all Killian can focus on is the way she's pressed up against him.

"They say once you become an expert, your subconscious takes over," she informs him, swinging his arm to show him the basic techniques. He knows he should be paying attention to what she's teaching him, but she's so enticingly close. And she only gets closer as she says, "Back in my world, that's what we call muscle memory."

She guides his sword back into its sheath, but does not remove her hand from it. He doesn't complain; he likes being this close to her.

"Tell me more about this reality you want to return to," he says, turning his body slightly to face her. He notices that her hand continues to remain on his sword hilt, anchoring her to him, and this gives him the courage to continue. Terrified, and with only the nerve to maintain eye contact for mere moments at a time, he goes on, "Us, for example. I sense that we, uh, we may be close."

He doesn't even have enough time to hope for an answer in the affirmative before she sends his heart soaring with a simple, "Very."

"Really?" Killian can't help the relieved and hopeful chuckle that comes out. He's amazed at the newfound confidence that this woman's company seems to give him. He even attempts to flirt, "Well, I'm starting to get jealous of the other me."

"Let's see what food Henry's discovered," she responds, ignoring his remark. He isn't even put off by it though, because of the blush on her cheeks, smile on her lips and twinkle in her eye. "I'm starving."

He starts to follow her, about to question her change of subject, but is interrupted by a woman's voice shouting, "There they are!"

He isn't really sure about everything that happens after that. He's caught with fear at the sight of the Evil Queen herself coming after them with a horde of black knights. Emma tries to reason with the Queen and her man-servant, but to no avail. They are forced to fight and Killian does the only thing he can think of; he sacrifices himself for the woman he has irrevocably and inconceivably fallen in love with over the course of a day.

He turns to her and pushes her back slightly, "Save Henry."

The defeated look on her face shatters his heart, "Killian, you can't beat them."

"If I can help return things to how they were meant to be, then what happens to me here won't matter, will it?" He can see in her eyes that she understands what he's getting at. He's willing to die to return her to the world she's meant to be in. Killian knows that any life where he's willing of Emma's trust is worth dying for. She looks torn, though, unsure if his logic is truth. "Now go. Save your boy."

Killian himself is unsure where the authority came from to give that last order, but he's glad he does as she stumbles back a few steps, heading towards Henry.

An alien, but not altogether uncomfortable feeling takes over and he suddenly feels very familiar with his sword. He isn't able to make out exactly how he does it, but he somehow is able to take down the man-servant and makes an advance towards the queen.

He hears the Swan lass' voice yelling from farther down the corridor, though, and begins to turn. As he does so, he senses a presence behind him and has enough time to turn completely before a blade is pushed inside of him. He can feel the pain of the cold metal and then everything fades into darkness.


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** The follows/favorites and reviews are amazing, thank you guys so much! You really encourage me to keep the story going, so thank you for that. Here's Emma's point of view.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 2,778

* * *

She sees his body hit the floor and screams in anguish. A burst of energy pulses through her and it isn't until her parents go flying backwards that she realizes it's magic. She doesn't have time to dwell on how she was able to use magic or if her magic is actually back or not, she runs across the cobblestone and collapses on her knees.

She quickly puts her hands to the wound, putting as much pressure on it as she could manage.

"Killian," she all but shouts, her eyes frantically flickering from his closed ones to his chest, in hopes of seeing him open his eyes or take in a breath. "Killian, please don't leave me. Please don't go."

She's blinded by her tears, flowing freely now. The logical part of her mind reminds her of her mission, reminds her that this is not _her_ Killian, reminds her that the best way to save him now is to erase this whole mess from happening in the first place. But all she can feel is the ache in her heart, the all consuming sorrow and fear that overrules all logic. All she can see is his ghostly pale face, his closed eyes, his usually smirking lips barely opening to allow breath through.

 _Wait, he's breathing!_

"Killian, oh my god, Killian!" She breathes out heavily. "Can you hear me? Please, _god_ , Killian can you hear me?"

Henry's by her side at this point, glancing back and forth between Killian and her parents' unconscious bodies. "Mom? How did you do that?"

"I don't-" she cuts herself off with a shaky inhale of breath. Wiping under her nose, she tries again. "I don't know, Henry, I don't know. But we need to get him somewhere safe. Somewhere we can help him."

Henry looks at her for a long second before starring down at Killian with a vacant expression in his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "He isn't-"

"I know, Henry! I know he isn't our Hook, I know that okay? God, don't you think I know that?" She shouts, hanging her head in shame, knowing she's being ridiculous and hating herself for it, even as she does it. "I'm sorry, kid. Look, just please do this for me. I need to know he's okay."

Henry nods his head and helps her bind as much cloth over his wound as possible, hoping to stop the blood flow. They lift Killian and position him in between them so they've each got one of his arms around their shoulders, allowing them to support his weight. They begin their slow journey out of the alley and across town, keeping their eyes out for any black knights.

"I understand," Henry finally says after a good 10 or 15 minutes of silence between them, besides the heavy breathing and occasional grunt that accompanies resituating the pirate's falling body.

She glances at him over the top of Killian's lolling head.

"When I saw my mom, Regina I mean, I needed her to know who I was. And I tried as hard as I could to get her to meet with Robin Hood and finally get her happy ending, even though she kept pushing me away," he says solemnly. "And it just felt so _off_ for me to have to teach Hook how to sail. I even wished he would ruffle my hair once or twice."

She sees his double-meaning for what it is. He can see how much it's hurting her to see Killian and not be with him. He can see just how much she loves him. And that terrifies her, because she's barely reaching the point of being able to admit that to herself. She's nowhere close to being ready to admit it to anyone else, nevertheless her own kid.

"Thanks, kid," she replies simply.

They continue on in silence until they reach a small dirty inn at the very edge of the town. While she is skeptical about the hygiene of the place, she knows the secluded area will ensure little possibility of running into any unwanted guest and the rundown condition means that the innkeeper can be bribed into secrecy.

After paying for a room and adding a little extra for privacy, using the money she swiped from Blackbeard's cabin on the Jolly Roger, the mother/son duo begin struggle their way up the stairs.

"You really shouldn't let your husband drink so much in front of your son," the innkeeper's wife calls out rudely from behind her mending work.

Before Emma can snap back at her, Henry responds with, "My dad's a good man, ma'am. I don't know if you've heard, but there's a nasty group of ruffians who have been poisoning drinks in the pubs they go to. My father only had one drink, but whatever they put in there knocked him out for good. We simply can't make it all the way home carrying him, that's why we stopped her, ma'am. We were hoping, actually, that you might be able to point us in the direction of an apothecary, so we may care for him properly."

The concern was genuine in Henry's voice and Emma was impressed with the few tears that slipped down his face, working to keep a smile off of her own as Henry refers to Killian as his dad. She hadn't really thought of marriage- she'd barely just accepted their relationship as it was- but she couldn't help thinking about what Killian's reaction would be to Henry calling him dad.

"Oh, my! Poison, you say? My goodness, I'm so sorry! Of course, I'll just, oh my now let me see," the robust lady sets down her sewing things and glanced around the front room, as if the drab colors on the wall would reveal to her the path they needed.

Emma holds back an eye roll and musters up her most hopeful looking smile. Henry shoots her a glare, so she must not look very convincing.

"Well, you should just be able to take the road right back into town and when you come across the shoemaker's shop the apothecary is just to the right," the woman responds.

"Thank you so much for your help," Henry pipes up and Emma lets him take control of the situation. "I don't know how we could ever repay you for your kindness."

The lady blushes and Emma turns her snicker into a cough. "Now, never you mind about that young lad. Just help your poor mother as she tends to your father. Run along now."

At her dismissal, the two trudge the rest of the way up the stairs to their room on the second floor. They manage to get the door open and get Killian on the larger bed in the room. Emma quickly removes both her and Killian's sword belts and throws them on the smaller bed, which reminds her more of the uncomfortable cots they had at most of the children's homes she stayed at. Shaking the thought off, she begins to remove Killian's- _unnecessarily complicated-_ top.

Part of her brain is wondering what to call the shirt- _Is it a waistcoat? A jacket? What the heck is this thing?_ \- while the other part registers Henry's movements. She turns her head to see him walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She questions, her hands unconsciously resting on Killian's bare chest.

"I'm going to the apothecary's," Henry responds in a tone that implies the _duh_. She gives him a pointed look at his spike in attitude. He raises an eyebrow and corrects himself, "I'm going where I don't have to see my mom undressing her boyfriend."

Emma's cheeks flare up with heat and she immediately withdraws her hands from Killian's body. Just for good measure, she takes a couple steps away from the bed and stands in front of the window, looking out at the fields and the small path they had just walked on. She nods her head repeatedly, well after the boy walks out the door and vanishes down the path.

"Well, he certainly inherited your air of mystery and attitude, didn't he?" A voice comes from behind her. "And what's this boyfriend he's talking about?"

Overcome with emotion, Emma whirls around and launches herself onto Killian, knocking him down from his perch on one elbow. She burries her head in his neck, pressing her lips against his jugular. It's not a kiss, but it's just as exhilarating; she can feel his pulse beneath her lips and she grins into throat, clutching onto his shoulders.

"Ah," he grunts in pain, simultaneously laying his hand on her back to steady her as her momentum nearly carries her right over the top of him and onto the other side of the bed. "Careful, love. I did just get stabbed after all."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She shouts, wincing at the volume of her own voice. She pushes herself off of him and almost violently rips his top the rest of the way open.

"Easy, lass," he says. She expects a clever innuendo, but when she looks up to see the blush on his face, she remembers this is not her Hook. "This is the only top I've got. Unless you want me to remain shirtless-"

Her giggle cuts him off, but she doesn't want to embarrass him further, knowing his blush has already grown by now. "Alright, I understand," she teases, gently helping him remove his arms from the sleeves, allowing her fingers to run over his chest, across his shoulders and down his arms as she does so.

He shivers from the contact and she can't help but tease him.

"Cold?" She asks in an innocent voice, knowing full well it was her who caused his involuntary movement.

His mouth does the adorable gaping thing again, where he looks like he can't get his thoughts in order in time to make words. She hides her smile by turning to fold his shirt properly and lay it by the swords on the other bed.

The cloth that Emma and Henry had wrapped around his wound is soaked through, but the blood is turning a rusty brown color, something that Emma has learned from experience means the blood has stopped. She carefully unwraps the wound, with a little help from Killian arching his back. She tries to assess the damage.

The cut is on his right side and its pretty high up on his chest. In fact, it's right about where his heart would be, if his heart was on the right instead of the left.

Emma thinks back to the moment right before it happened. David had risen from the ground behind Killian and was about to stab him in the back, in the perfect position to pierce his heart. But Killian turned around and the blade hit him on the other side of his body instead.

"You saved me, you know," his breathy voice breaks her out of her thoughts. She glances up at him and sees his teeth gritted in pain. He's breathing heavily, but seems otherwise unbothered by the wound. "When you shouted, it sort of, well, I'm not sure how to say it, but it heightened my senses. Does that make sense?"

Emma nods, "We call it an adrenaline rush. Everything's clearer, sharper. You can punch harder, run faster, swim longer."

"I had an adrenaline rush, then, as you say. And I could tell the Queen's man-servant was behind me and I turned to face him. If I hadn't, his dagger would have gone straight through my heart. I'm pretty bad off as it is, but at least this has a chance of being healed. And I owe that all to you, Emma Swan. Thank you," he says gently, raising his good hand to her face and gently wiping away a stray tear.

She leans into his touch for a moment, but then she hears footsteps bounding up the stairs, so she quickly wipes away her tears and turns towards the door just as Henry rushes in.

"Oh, good, he's awake," Henry says dropping his load from the apothecary's onto the nightstand beside the bed.

"Let's get to work," Emma mutters, avoiding eye contact with both Henry and Killian, knowing that with how far down her walls currently are, her eyes would give away all of her emotions.

Head down, she gently begins to clean Killian's wound. The room stays relatively quiet, both males picking up on Emma's strange mood, besides the occasional grunted order from Emma to Henry.

It takes her a while to clean the wound, because she's being so very careful not to harm her love, while also wanting to get the job done thoroughly. The most difficult part for all, is having to stitch up the open wound, because the antiseptic does not do much to stifle Killian's cries of pain, which cause great big tears to fall from Emma's eyes and onto the wound. Henry eventually has to take over when Emma's hands begin shaking too much from emotion. Instead, she sits on the side of bed, back towards Henry but facing Killian. Using a cloth she continuously dips in a bowl of cool water, she wipes away the sweat from his face

His face contorts in pain, frequently, and she uses a shaking hand to smooth away the lines of discomfort from his brow. She caresses his face softly with one hand, wishing she could draw away his pain. He brings his hook up and rests the curved edge against the back of her hand, keeping her hand firm against his face.

She smiles shakily through the tears and he grants her a lopsided smile for a mere second before he yells out in anguish again.

Finally, finally, it's all over.

Emma finishes up the sutures, tying them off and cleaning the slightly crooked row of stitches carefully. Then she places a clean bandage over them and wraps a clean cloth around his torso, holding the bandage in place and adding another layer of defense against infection.

Rounding up all the soiled cloths they had used in their attempt to stop the bleeding and clean the cut, Emma hands Henry the pile and asks him to take it out back, beyond where anyone can see, and burn it.

"Why does he need to do that, love?" Killian huffs out, spent from all the pain he'd just endured. His eyes are half- lidded and his bare chest is heaving.

"To keep you safe," she mutters, returning to her perch where she sits by his elbow. Running a hand through his hair to gently fluff it back into place, she explains, "First of all, we don't want there to be any evidence that you survived. My parents will come after you if they know you're alive. If they found those pieces of cloth, they would know someone nursed you back to health and that would give them an idea of where to start looking. But also because it's unsanitary to keep that kind of thing laying around. I don't know the science behind it; I just know it's not healthy."

He's quiet for a few minutes and she almost thinks he's fallen asleep with his eyes half open when he whispers, "Thank you."

"Shh," she soothes him, bending her head down to be more at his level. With both hands, she caresses his face once more, smoothing over the worry lines and gently closing his eyelids. "Sleep now, Killian. You need to rest."

He opens his eyes slightly and just looks at her for a good minute or so. "Only if you say you will, too. You've had a long day as well, milady," he slurs, his voice full of sleep.

"I will, dear pirate. Now, get some rest. That's an order," she teases, allowing both hands to slip off his face and rest on his chest.

"And who are you to order a captain?" He breathes back.

Her heart soars at his comeback. It feels so similar to the easy give and take banter she's used to. Apparently exhaustion in this Hook brings out his confidence and wit.

"I'm a princess," she whispers into his ear, thinking of all the times he referred to her as such.

"As you wish, Princess," he mutters, allowing his head to drop off to the side, his cheek resting against the pillow.

Her heart light and her mind too exhausted to dwell on any of the numerous events of the day, she walks to the other side of the bed, pulls off her boots and snuggles up to her pirate.


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** Yay Killy's not dead!

So if you couldn't tell, this is pretty much where the branch off from the show starts. I know it's been pretty transcript heavy and I've been following the episode a lot, but from here on out it basically becomes my own piece.

Because we're all so very, very happy that our favorite pirate is alive and kicking, I'll let you hear from him this time around.

I know it's really short, I'm sorry. I promise the next one will be longer!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 1,699

* * *

He can feel his mind floating towards the edge of consciousness and wedges his nose farther into the smooth, delectable smelling pillow he's sleeping on, trying to fight his way back to sleep. He's just about to drift back off when he realizes that what he thought was a pillow is in fact a person. A person who is wrapped quite perfectly in his arms and warming him up quite nicely.

Part of him wants to welcome back the warmth of sleep, but the other part of him is wondering who in their right mind would want to sleep in his small, uncomfortable hammock with him below deck.

He opens his eyes to see that the wonderful smelling pillow is covered by a messy mop of blond hair. It all hits him then; the lad and his mother, his heart being completely captured by a certain green-eyed beauty, and being stabbed, quite painfully, by afore mentioned beauty's father.

Leaning his head back slightly, he watches her sleep for a few moments, reveling in how peaceful she looks. That she would trust him while so vulnerable, that she would let her guard completely down- well it simply overwhelms him. He cannot decipher this young mother and that somehow draws him to her even more. Not in the sense that he wants to figure her out and then throw her out, but rather to come to know the inner workings of her mind and heart, to be able to understand when others don't because she allows him to be that close to her, emotionally.

And he does rather fancy the way she allows him to be close to her physically.

He has one arm wrapped under her, his hand splayed over her back to keep her close. It was something he had done unconsciously, but he now uses this position to draw her even closer. He is rewarded with a sweet sigh as she nuzzles her head farther into his chest. He continues to lay on his back, loving the way one of Emma's hands gently cradles her face, sandwiched in between her head and his chest, while the other hand lays flat over his heart.

He presses a light kiss to the top of her head, before resuming his place of having his nose buried in her hair. He likes to watch the ripple his breath causes in her hair, timing his breaths to that of hers, which blows across his chest.

"Knock, knock," a loud voice bellows and Killian lifts his head to see a boisterous middle-aged woman barge right into the room, carrying a tray with her. She glances down at Emma whose still sleeping on Killian's chest and her cheeks burn red. She giggles and says in a hushed tone, "Ah, mustn't wake the missus."

Killian is shocked into silence and blinks sleepily at the older woman, trying to understand. She thought Emma was his wife? They were in a rather compromising position, but that was a mighty big conclusion to jump to.

"Yeah, my mom's real tired," Henry's voice comes from the other side of the room. Killian cranes his neck to look over Emma's sleeping form at another bed that he hadn't yet noticed. Henry sits up, propping his pillows up against the wall and leaning on them. "She spent most of the night looking after my dad."

A heat rushes through Killian's cheeks. Did the lad just refer to him as his father? It explains why the round woman in the middle of their room called the Swan girl his wife, but it raises numerous other questions in its wake.

"No need to be embarrassed, sir. It's quite alright to be looked after by your own wife, every once in a while. Gives her somebody to look after, since your lad's about grown and you haven't given her any other little ones to tend to," the lady chastises.

Killian's flush only grows. To think of him and Emma having children-

"Here's your breakfast, then," the woman says, placing the tray down on the small table next to Killian's side of the bed. "Already paid for, so eat up."

She then dawdles out of the room, stomping down the stairs quite loudly.

Killian continues to lay in the exact same place he had been in before the entire scene. He can't quite get his head around the whole ordeal.

"Mom must really be tired," Henry comments, getting up out of bed and walking around to the tray of food.

Killian starts to get up, wiggling out from under Emma, feeling a bit ridiculous for not only laying down in front of the boy, but being so close to the boy's mother.

"No, don't!" Henry blurts out, putting up his hands to stop Killian's movements. Emma stirs in her sleep and Killian becomes still, not wanting to wake her up, but she only moves her head to nuzzle her nose into his neck. Killian stares wide-eyed at Henry, mortified at the intimate position he's in with the lad's mom. Henry shrugs and grabs some food off the tray, "I've seen you guys do more than that. Besides, if she's tired enough to sleep in, she really needs it. Want a biscuit?"

Killian takes the food from the boy and carefully eats it, making sure not to drop any crumbs on the young woman clinging to him in her slumber. When she starts to mutter his name, Henry clears his throat uncomfortably and makes an excuse to leave. Killian is glad he does, as his ears flame from the Swan's girls murmurs even without anyone else around to hear them.

When she finally starts to stir again, the sun is fast approaching midday.

He watches as she thrusts one arm into the air and curves her back, letting out a long yawn. She then runs a hand through her hair and has to yank it out of the tangles it gets stuck in. She sighs happily, still glancing about the room, before she turns back to look at him. He's still laying flat on his back, which is starting to get sore from lack of movement, and she's propped up slightly on one elbow, her other hand resting on his chest.

"Good morning," she hums, dipping down to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good morning," he breathes out, no longer questioning the wonderful things that keep happening to him when it comes to this woman, but instead relishing every second of it. She sits up completely and pulls her mess of hair into a ponytail. He's mesmerized at how beautiful she looks, even when undertaking such a mundane task. The way the sun lights up her already bright hair, the slender curve of her neck, her strong capable arms on full display- he has to shake his head to clear his thoughts. By way of distraction, he asks, "How did you sleep?"

She finishes her task and her arms flop to either side of her, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

"I'm supposed to be asking you that," she says, bouncing off the bed and walking quickly over his side to place a hand on his chest and keep him from rising. "I'm the nurse, you're my patient. So, how'd you sleep?"

He notices a little blush on her cheek when she calls him her patient, but he doesn't press the matter. She begins to unwrap his bandages to check the wound.

"Most comfortable night I've passed in, well, my whole life," he answers honestly. Her cheeks only rise in color and he's glad he went with the simplified version instead of actually going into detail just how pleasant of a slumber he had, especially the waking up part. Seeing an opportunity to tease her and elicit more of that enticing blush, he quips, "And what about you, love. You slept in quite late and your lad was scared off by your mutterings."

"M-Mutterings?" She asks, her hands still and her face goes slack with horror. "What did I say? What did he hear? Where is he now?"

"Hush, love, you merely said my name," he reassures her, running the back of his knuckles over her soft cheek. He lowers his voice and musters up his cockiest grin to say, "Though it was more of a caress than anything. And it was at least a dozen times."

"A dozen?" She asks, looking mortified.

"A baker's dozen," he affirms, laughing at her embarrassed state. "Don't worry, love, Henry only heard it once and then he left to gather more supplies and check the area for news on the Queen."

The color slowly drains from Emma's cheeks. She looks at him with her eyebrows furrowed, but she can't keep the smile off her face as she lightly slaps his shoulder.

"Don't do that," she admonishes, returning to her work undoing his bandages. "How long has he been gone?"

"Ah, I'd say about an hour or two. It's closing in on noon, I'd say we'll reach midday in a little less than an hour and a half," he informs her, looking out the window to judge the position of the sun.

"What?" She exclaims, running to look out the window. "You guys let me sleep in 'til 10! Why didn't you wake me?"

She whirls around and marches back over to him, her hands on her hips.

"You looked so peaceful, love, I didn't want to wake you. And your lad said you needed the sleep," he responds sheepishly, attempting to rise onto his elbows to bring himself closer to eyelevel with her.

She immediately pushes back down on his shoulders and resumes work on his bandages. "Not so fast there, pirate. You still got a lot of healing to do."

Just as she completes her sentence, she pulls away the last bandage and her face is completely covered in shock.

"What? What is it, love?" Killian asks, unable to see the wound with the way she's got her hands rested on his chest.

"Your chest, it's- well, it just," she shakes her head, removes her hands and looks him dead in the eye. "Killian you've completely healed."


	6. Chapter 5

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long to post, I got to go to some family's house for the weekend, so I didn't have access to my laptop.

I hope I can make up for the wait with lots and lots of good old fashioned fluff. And we're back to our lovely Savior's point of view.

Countdown to OUAT Season 5: 24 days!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 1,823

* * *

"What? How is that possible?" He asks glancing frantically from her shocked face to his (flawless) chest.

 _Not the time, Swan,_ she chastises herself as she physically forces herself to stop starring at his chiseled chest by placing her hand over her eyes, attempting to look deep in thought instead of like a hormonal teenager. She lets her hand run upwards, smoothing some loose hairs away from her face and turns to look at him with the calmest expression she can manage.

"I'm sure it's fine, Killian," she soothes, her hand absentmindedly tracing the faint line of a scar where the wound should be. "I mean, it's healed, so that's a good thing. If it was something bad, it would be worse, not better."

He looks at her uncertainly, but she can't blame him. She's still trying to convince herself that it's a good thing.

Henry walks into the room at that moment, carrying a knapsack he hadn't had before.

"Hey, kid, come check this out," Emma calls, watching as her son drops the knapsack next to the door while kicking it shut behind him. Something she'd seen his father do a few times.

Henry walks over to the bed, where Killian is now propping himself up on one elbow in an attempt to get a better view of his absent wound.

"It's just...gone?" Henry asks, looking at his mother for answers.

Emma nods, unable to hide the confusion and worry on her face.

"Guess, half the stuff in that bag is useless then," Henry says, walking over to pick up the knapsack. He dumps the items out on his bed and starts sorting them into piles, the largest one consisting of medical supplies and the other two being made up of food and clothing.

"You don't seem in the least bit bothered by my miraculous recovery, lad," Killian comments, sounding slightly sarcastic in his worry. Emma shoots him a warning look, but she can't help the way it softens when she sees the panic on his face.

"Well, it makes sense," Henry casually answers, continuing with his work.

Emma turns to look at him, bewildered by his response. "What do you mean, it makes sense?"

Henry stops what he's doing to turn and look at the pair on the bed. "I mean, it makes sense. Last night when you were stitching up the wound you got your tears in it," he says with a shrug.

"Tears don't have some kind of magical healing-oh! You don't think-" Emma breathes, looking down at her hands. She remembers the first time she saw them glow with magic, the terror she felt. But she also remembers how lost she had felt the first time she lost her magic, and what a relief and a blessing it was to see her hands glow with magic once again.

They look like her ordinary, non-magical hands at the moment, but it had taken her a while to tap into her magic the first time around. She supposes it could be the same type of deal this time.

That is, if she _is_ getting her powers back. She can't be sure, and she can't get her hopes up.

"What? What don't we think?" Killian asks. Emma can see his head turning back and forth between mother and son from the corner of her eye, but she can't stop starring at her hands, almost willing them to light up with that surge of energy once more.

"It's possible. You _did_ blast grandma and grandpa yesterday," Henry replies to Emma, shrugging and turning back to his sorting.

"B-but how? How is that possible? I tried _for years_ to use it," her voice cracks with emotion, remembering the years of utter torment and solitude locked up in her tower. She had tried so many times to free herself, but it never worked. "I couldn't break the bonds, but I can heal Killian's wound?"

"Heal my- bloody hell, lass, you're _that bloody powerful?"_ Killian says with awe, sitting up completely in bed.

Emma turns to look at him and is swept away by the look in his eyes. She's momentarily transported to Rumple's castle, the room he transported them to, and it's her Hook looking at her with such wonder and adoration. She blinks to shake off the memory, but Killian is still looking at her with so much awe that she can't help the blush that creeps up her cheeks.

"I still don't see how it's possible," she croaks out, by way of ignoring the sudden burn of passion that Killian's loving gaze excites in her.

"Think about it, your magic comes from the power of True Love, right?" Henry prompts, turning his full attention back to his mother.

"Well, yeah, but in case you haven't realized, Mary Margaret and David aren't exactly in honeymoon mode. They aren't even Mary Margaret or David and more. Or Snow White and Prince Charming, for that matter. They're the Evil Queen and her lame henchmen," Emma scoffs, for the first time wondering just what her father's Enchanted Forest name was. Sure her mom called him Prince Charming, but that was a nickname. He went by Prince James for a while, but that was his twin brother's name. For the life of her, Emma can not think of her father's given name.

"You're right. You're not exactly the product of True Love anymore. But you _have_ True Love, mom. You just couldn't access your powers until you found it again," Henry clarifies.

Emma sits down on the bed. Or more accurately collapses with the weight of his words. If she finally found True Love, that means it was Hook. And that means this Hook had grown to love her in just the one short day they had known each other.

 _That isn't possible. How is this possible?_

Hervision becomes blurred and she realizes that her eyes are tearing up. She blinks rapidly, trying to hold back the tears and her chest heaving with barely contained sobs.

She feels a hand on her arm and looks up through the unshed tears to see Killian looming over her. She was so lost in the confusion of this huge revelation that she didn't notice him getting off the bed and striding over to her.

The concern on his handsome face is what sends her over the edge. She launches herself off the bed and into his arms, wrapping her own tightly around his neck and burying her nose in the conjecture of his neck and shoulder. She lets the tears fall as she clings to her one constant in her crazy life, the man she loves.

Killian's arms gently encircle her and his hand runs soothingly over her hair. "There, there, love. What's the matter?" He questions.

Her heart swells at his soft touch and even softer tone. "Nothing's wrong, Killian," she mutters into his neck, before pulling back a bit to smile up at him. Her cheeks hurt with the width of her grin, but she can't contain her happiness. She'd waited years and years for someone to come for her, to welcome her into her family and love her. And then she gave up hope. When her parents' memories finally returned, she felt loved, but she still had that emptiness of not having the childhood she wanted, of living for 28 years unloved and unwanted.

But being loved by Killian was something completely different than being loved by her parents. They were obligated to love her, they were her _parents_. But Killian _chose_ her, time and time again he chose her. Killian loves her.

"Then why the tears, love?" He asks, wiping a few away with the back of his knuckles.

And she loves him.

"Killian, I-I," she stutters out, willing herself to say the words. She knows it's true. She knows it with every fiber of her being. She's known it for awhile, she's just never admitted it to anyone, not even herself. But how could she tell this Hook before telling her own? How could she say those intimate words to a man who just met her yesterday? "I got my magic back," she finishes lamely, having to put effort into her smile now.

"Congratulations, love," he smiles at her softly, his eyes flickering between hers as if he can see the shift in her mood. "You can return us to the correct reality then, can you not?"

"The wedding!" Emma exclaims, breaking out of Killian's arms and quickly beginning to repack Henry's knapsack with the essentials: food and a change of clothes for all three of them. She holds up the dress with distaste and glares at Henry before shoving it into the pack.

"What? I did the best I could," Henry says sheepishly.

"C'mon, we gotta find Regina and get to that wedding before it's too late," Emma says, ignoring the guilty feeling that settles in her stomach for holding back from Killian.

 _He's not your Killian. When we get back, that's when I can tell him. When he's the real him._

The three hurry down the stairs and out into the woods that seem a necessary part of the scenery when it comes to the Enchanted Forest. Emma thanks whoever might be listening for the pair of pants she found on the Jolly Roger as she maneuvers quite easily through the branches, fallen logs and overgrown bushes that clutter the small path they're following.

"Lass?" That heavenly voice calls out. She stops mid-stride, taking a sip from her water flask and allowing him to catch up to her where she had been steam rolling in an attempt to forget her emotions. "Do you think I might be allowed a new shirt?"

Emma chokes on her water, some dribbling down her chin. She violently wipes the wet trail off her face and begins digging in the pack to hide her blush. She had completely forgotten that Killian's shirt from last night was torn and bloody, and therefore she had given it to Henry to burn. She feels ridiculous; she had made the man trail behind her shirtless for a good 10 or 15 minutes without even realizing it.

Her shaking hands finally land on the soft material and she takes a breath to steady herself before standing up and thrusting the object at him. "Here, I'm sorry about, well, destroying your shirt," she says shyly, averting her eyes from his handsome figure as he puts on the new tunic. He leaves the top of the shirt untide, characteristically revealing her favorite part of his chest.

 _Snap out of it, Swan. Your kid's here, for god's sake._

"Right, well," she nods and takes off again, handing the pack to Henry as she passes him, so he can be the one the pirate asks for any other supplies.

Resuming her spot in front, Emma trods off in the direction Henry had claimed led to Regina.


	7. Chapter 6

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** Just to clear things up: Emma knows that her father's name is David Nolan in Storybrooke and that he went by Prince James/Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest. But, she's read the storybook so she also knows that Prince Charming isn't _really_ Prince James. He's a shepherd whose name is never mentioned. He just takes on the name of Prince James when the real Prince James dies. There was no real point of putting that in the fanfic, I just recently started rewatching Once Upon a Time to refresh my memory before season 5 comes on and I noticed that they never give the shepherd a name.

On to more important things, KILLIAN'S (unverifeid) LOVE (possibly) BROUGHT BACK EMMA'S MAGIC (maybe)

OUAT IS BAAAAAACK! I'M SO HAPPY! I don't want to spoil anything for anyone whose behind, but _oh man_ I want to talk about it SO bad! So if you wanna fangirl/boy together, just message me :)

tell me what you think of this chapter 3

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 2,909

* * *

 _Was it something I said?_ Killian wonders gloomily, trying his best to keep up with the Swan lass.

He's not used to travel through the woods. Give him a rocking ship in the middle of a storm and he'd be perfectly fine, able to hold a glass of water still enough to not spill. But bloody land travel was a pain in the arse.

He isn't the only one having a difficult time keeping pace with the leader, Henry seems to have a knack for stumbling over brambles and catching the toe of his shoes on logs. He has yet to fall, but Killlian can't help but think it's only a matter of time.

Speeding up to reach the boy, he offers out his hand, "I can take the knapsack for a while, lad. It's only fitting we all take turns."

"Oh, thanks Hook- I mean, Killian. Hey, listen, don't let this get you down. She has a lot of walls," Henry says, lowering his voice which leads Killian to assume the 'she' is the lad's mother.

"I'm not quite certain I follow, lad," Killian responds, hoping to try to get some answers out of the lad. Although Killian had noticed that the boy could be just as cryptic as his mother sometimes, Henry is a lot more likely to answer questions directly than the Sawn lass is.

Henry places a hand on Killian's arm and slows down their pace quite considerably. He turns his head to look at the pirate with a serious face, but Killian can see the hope in his eyes, "My mom... she's gone through some tough stuff. She pushes people away so she won't get hurt again. But if she's pushing you away, it means you're someone special to her. The more she pushes, the more she loves. She just has a hard time letting people get close to her, so you have to be persistent, but not pushy. And actions speak way louder than words with her, so _show_ her you're loyal and in it for the long haul."

"Hey!" Both of their heads snap up to look at Emma, whose a good 50 yards or so ahead of them. "What are you two doing? We have to keep moving or we'll never make it in time!"

"You _can_ win her heart. You've done it before. You just need to show her your worth it," Henry finishes.

"Thank you, Henry," Killian responds vehemently. To be given such hope is rejuvenating.

The two men quicken their paces and hurry over to Emma, where she stands with one hand on her hip. Before they reach her, she spins abruptly and continues on in her heated walk.

Killian makes his way up to her and silently trudges along next to her- well, next to her, but always one step behind her due to her fast pace. From what he's seen of the Swan girl in the past day, he knows not to push her. She'll talk when she's ready. They remain in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds are their heavy breathing and Henry's mumbling from behind them every time he stumbles.

"What were you talking about?" She finally asks, starring straight ahead and not at him.

"Me and the lad?" Killian questions. She gives one short, curt nod. "I'm not sure I'm at liberty to say. You're lad spoke to me in confidence."

"Look, Killian," she spits, shooting him a quick glare before glowering at the woods in front of her once more. "He's my son and I think I have the right to know."

Killian sighs, shifting the knapsack on his shoulders to distract himself from her anger. "As you wish, love. We were conversing about you."

"Me?" She asks. Any traces of anger or annoyance are completely gone and replaced with utter shock. She turns to look at him, and the anger returns. She eyes him suspiciously with narrowed eyes, "What were you guys saying about me?"

"Mom, stop yelling at Killian, it wasn't his fault," Henry puffs, slightly out of breath, from behind them. Emma stops abruptly and turns to look at Henry, her face much softer now. "I just wanted to give him some hope. Mary Margaret isn't here for the classic hero hope speech, so I did it myself."

"Hope? Why does Hook need hope? Henry, we're gonna stop this wedding and then everything's going to go back to normal. There's no need for hope speeches and we don't have the time. We just have to do what we have to do," Emma sighs.

"He doesn't need hope for our mission, mom," Henry says in a tone that makes it seem as though his words are obvious. Emma bristles slightly at his tone and Killian is worried that the lad will get in trouble for disrespect whilst standing up for him. "Only Regina needs hope for this."

"Then what, tell me, does he need hope for?" Emma says in a very controlled tone that just barely hides the anger Killian can see bubbling in her eyes.

"Ah, lad, I don't think-"

"For you, mom," Henry cuts off Killian. "Because after everything this Hook has done for us, you're pushing him away. He stole the Jolly Roger from Blackbeard, he rescued you from your tower, he fought a dragon, he almost _died_ to protect you from Gramps! What more does he have to do before you'll realize that he actually cares about you and won't let you down?" Henry yells at his mother.

Killian is staring wide-eyed at the lad, not yet daring to see how Emma is taking this.

"You think I don't realize that? You think I don't know why he did all those things for us? Henry, I'm not stupid! I'm not blind! I know what getting my magic back means. Hook is my- he's..We're... Killian Jones is my True Love," she finally chokes out, tears flowing freely now. "But how could I say that to _this_ Hook, Henry? How can I not tell _my_ Hook first. It isn't right. After everything he's done for me, he deserves to hear it first. Not through the clouded vision of some Curse or other reality. I have to push him away, because if I get too close that's like cheating on my Hook."

Killian is stunned my Emma's confession. To think that a woman like Emma Swan- so capable and strong, beautiful and smart- could love a man like him. Not only love him, but be his True Love. It blew his mind.

"Mom, you don't have to go through it alone," Henry practically whispers.

Emma visibly breaks down at the tenderness in Henry's words. The lad rushes forward to hug his mother and Killian feels as though he's intruding on this precious, private moment. He begins to shuffle backwards, wanting to give the pair a chance to work things out, but he feels a hand on his arm. He watches the porcelain, graceful fingers slide down his arm and wrap around his hook, tugging him forward. Killian takes a step towards the pair and finally glaces up at Emma.

He gasps softly when he sees just how open her face is. He's never seen a woman look so vulnerable in his life, nor nearly as beautiful. With tears streaming down her face, she reaches for his face with the hand that isn't wrapped around Henry's shoulders. She cradles his cheek gently in her palm and tilts his head forward, leaning her forehead softly against his.

His eyes flicker back and forth between the two of hers, trying to soak in all the emotions he sees there- the love, adoration, appreciation, respect and trust. He knows his face must be just as open as hers and whatever she can see in his face causes her to smile brilliantly. He's never been so enamored by a woman before, and he's sure he never will be by any other woman. No, he'll always be hopelessly in love with his Swan.

"I love you, Killian," she whispers softly, grinning through her tears.

"And I you, my love," he answers simply, tears of his own gathering in his eyes. He grabs her hand with his good one and presses it against his rapidly beating heart.

Her eyes flutter closed gently, but his continue to roam her face, soaking in every detail of her stunning beauty. They remain there for a few moments more, simply taking in each other's presence.

Finally, Henry clears his throat and the two gently pull apart. Killian holds onto her hand though, letting their fingers intertwine as Henry marches off, muttering about how gross love is.

Emma chuckles softly and wraps her free hand around the crook of his arm, pulling herself closer and eradicating the last bit of space between them as they follow after the lad. He loves how it feels to be able to show his admiration for this wonderful woman, to hold her hand and show her he's there for her. There's something that just seems so _right_ about being with the Swan lass, as if they were always meant to find each other- and perhaps they were, what with them being each other's True Love and whatnot. He glances down at her soft smile as she glides along next to him, seeming so much lighter than she had been before. It's as though the burden of her heavy heart has literally been lifted on her shoulders and lightened her step.

"Mom! Killian!" Henry calls out, glancing frantically up at the sky. "We don't have much longer. It's almost noon! The wedding start at 1!"

The two quicken their pace. "Are you sure this is the right way, Henry?" Emma calls out, peering around for any sign of civilization in the thick trees.

"How does the lad know where we're going, anyways?" Killian wonders aloud.

"I read the book," Henry replies in the same obvious-sounding tone that had made Emma irritated earlier. He sighs and shakes his head before continuing, "It's a long story and if we get to my mom in time then you'll know what I mean. If we don't, well...then I guess I'll have time to explain."

"Henry," Emma says in a warning tone. "We're going to fix this. We'll find Regina and we'll get her the happy ending she deserves, I promised her I would."

"I know, Mom," Henry says with a shy. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just getting a little antsy. We just need to find Regina-"

"You again?" A voice rings out, cutting off Henry and causing the trio to stop in their steps.

Killian reaches for his sword, but Emma rests her hand on his before he can unsheathe it. He looks at her expectantly, confused as to why she would stop him from protecting her, but he's baffled even further to see an unbelieving smile on her face.

"Regina!" She breathes out excitedly.

"Do I know you?" A woman in a similar ensemble to Emma responds. She's standing on a log a few feet in front of them, with a bow in hand and sheathe of arrows slung across her back. The woman has dark hair that's been forced into a braid of sorts and in desperate need of a good wash. Killian can't help but realize how the lack of care to Emma's hair hadn't revolted him in the same way this woman's did. To him, Emma wasn't purposefully neglecting her hygiene, she had been captured and forced in a tower, which was hardly her fault. This woman, however, could hardly have any such excuse.

"No, no you don't. But I know you," Emma says softly, releasing Killian's hand- much to his disapproval- and stepping closer to the woman.

"Let me guess- you're his other mother," the Regina woman says somewhat sourly, her lips twisting in an unamused smile.

"Emma," the Swan girl replies, taking another step forward. Killian can't help but compare Emma's cautionary and slow approach towards the woman to a man he once saw slowly approaching a wounded deer in an attempt to help heal it. Emma, like the man did with the deer, is attempting to heal Regina without startling her enough to send her running.

"I have to give you credit- breaking her out of the tower couldn't have been easy," Regina aims at Henry, looking slightly impressed.

"Thanks to Hook," Henry answers, glancing at the pirate who felt quite shocked to even be addressed in such a crucial conversation, let alone given credit.

Emma takes another step towards Regina, drawing the latter woman's gaze off of Killian, "Regina- everything he said about this reality- it's all true."

Regina scoffs, "I doubt that. I don't know why I'm wasting my time with a madwoman who calls herself 'the Savior.'"

Killian steps forward angrily, but Henry places a hand on his arm to calm him down. Killian glances at the young lad, curious as to why he'd stand by and let this stranger talk so hideously about his own mother.

"She's my mom," Henry explains, answering the unspoken question quietly.

The women pay seemingly no mind to the interaction, as Emma softly says, "Because I can help. Your happiness is still a possibility. The first step is going after the man you love."

Emma's words make Killian think back to Emma's carefree smile and the bounce in her step after she'd admitted her love for him and he'd pronounced the feeling in return. Was it possible that he was part of her happy ending?

Regina scoffed loudly. "My happy ending _isn't_ a man," she says curtly, sending a pointed glance at Killian.

Emma glances over her shoulder at Killian, sending him a soft smile. She turns back to Regina, "Of course not. But love is a part of all happiness, and you have to be open to that. Go to Robin Hood. All you have to do is tell him how you feel."

Regina lets out a humorless laugh, "Oh, is that all? You forgot to mention the part where I'd have to crash his wedding!"

Emma looks back towards Killian again, looking panicked. Killian's heart pounded loudly at the worry in her eyes and the hope that was quickly fading with Regina's refusal to listen or believe.

Killian takes a few steps forward, staying safely behind Emma in case Regina tensed at his approach. He steals a quick glance at the Swan girl's face, worried about how she was holding up. He squares his shoulders and glanced up at Regina earnestly, "What does your heart tell you?"

The woman's face softens and she watches as Emma takes a step back to intertwine her fingers with Killian's. Her voice is low as she answers, still looking at Emma's hand curled around Killian's, "I know what my heart says. But what if his doesn't say the same thing?"

Smiling sadly, Emma says in a thick voice, "Isn't that a risk you're willing to take? I just almost watched the man I love die."

Killian glances down at her to see tears gathering in her eyes. "Love," he whispers softly, aching to comfort her.

She shakes her head, wiping away a stray tear and maintaining eye contact with Regina. He continues to watch her, scanning her face for any sign that she needed him to cut in for her, but otherwise staying out of the conversation and allowing Emma to do what she needed to.

"Oh. I'm-I'm sorry. That's horrible," comes Regina's response. Killian can only guess what her face looks like, but can hear the sincere regret for Emma's hardships in her tone.

The Swan girl's lips turn down and she blinks hard once, as though trying to fight back the tears. A few more slip down her face as she glances up at Regina somberly, "The worst part is I never told him I loved him before that. Not once. I was too scared. Too scared that somehow, saying it would make it real, and change everything. But I was _that_ close to never having a chance to take that next step with him because he would have been gone. And I can tell you, my heart broke in a million pieces when I thought he was dead. I don't want you to have to suffer like I did. Please. Don't make the same mistake I did."

The pain on Emma's face was unbearable for Killian to look at any longer, so he chances a glance up at the other woman. Regina looks at Killian with sorrowful eyes for a long moment, before exhaling sharply and nodding.

Killian hears Emma's intake of breath and can feel his hopes rising with hers.

"Okay," Regina finally answers, taking a keen interest to her shoes.

"Great! Now, c'mon! The wedding's going to start soon," Henry blurts, flying by the three adults and hurrying off into the woods once more. Regina turns quickly to follow the boy, but Killian tugs on Emma's hand when she begins to follow as well.

He releases her hand for a second to softly wipe away her tears, before joining their fingers once more. He places a soft kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering on her smooth skin for a beat longer than probably acceptable, but he doesn't care. He feels a need to reassure his love that he's with her and that they're going to be okay.


	8. Chapter 7

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** Okay I know this is like _really_ short, like the shortest chapter so far, but I just had to end it there. I just love torturing you guys :) (I mean that in the most loving way possible) And in my defense, this is two chapters in a row...sooo

So Killian is precious. And I love him. And his support of Emma in the newest episode just inspired me to write as much fluff as possible, so we might be getting lots of not-plot-related CaptainSwan scenes just because.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 591

* * *

"So this Regina woman is the lad's other mother?" Killian asks her softly, his lips at her ear. Even he had caught on to Regina's animosity toward being called Henry's mom.

"It's a long story, but yes," she answers, trying to ignore the heat in her stomach that accompanies his breath on her skin.

While they're no longer holding hands- in an attempt to maintain the quick pace Henry has set them at- they still remain close, brushing hands and shoulders as they trample through the woods. Emma can't deny the sparks that spider out from the places where they briefly touch, even though it makes her feel like an overly hormonal teenager.

"In your reality," Killian starts, before abruptly stopping. Emma looks at him to see confusion and embarrassment on his face and can guess what he's getting at.

"No, no it's not like that. In my world there _are_ families with two moms or two dads, but that's not how our family is," Emma explains, saving him from asking the question. "I had Henry when I was young. Really young. Just a kid, myself."

"Ah," he breathes out. She avoids eye contact, the regret that she's fought for so many years welling up once more. She battles it down, watching her strong, beautiful son nimbly pick his way across the cluttered forest floor. She can't live in the past, or it will affect her present.

She smiles somewhat sadly up at Killian, "He found me. He brought me back to Storybrooke, the town we live in. Regina had adopted him. She was there for him when I wasn't. She's just as much his mother as I am, if not more so. I've accepted her role in his life, even realized that I'm beyond grateful that chance placed Henry in the same town that my parents lived in. That's how I found them, actually. Remember the curse I told you about?"

"The one you broke," he amends.

"Yeah, that one," she allows, shaking her head at the pride in his gaze. "Henry knew about it. He somehow figured it out and came to get me so I could break it. And now we're all together, as a family."

 _That's it, Swan,_ Emma thinks to herself. _Focus on the positives._

Killian clears his throat, causing Emma to glance up at him once more. He's got an uncomfortable look on his face and he avoids her gaze. "And the lad's, ah, father?"

"You knew him," Emma whispers softly, feeling the familiar prickle in the corner of her eyes. She won't cry, she's cried her last tear for Neal, managed to set that part of her life behind her. She has Henry to worry about, plus now she has Hook in her life. "He's gone now."

"Oh, Emma," Killian breathes out, grabbing her hand and bring it to his lips to place a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I'm sorry, love."

"Mom!" Henry shouts from the front of the group. "I think we're here."

Emma and Killian jog up to Henry where he's standing at the edge of the woods. There's a clearing and they can see a small village in the near distance, but there's a small hut-looking building right in front of them.

There are people milling around in the small yard in front of the building, all dressed up in puffy pants and bulging dresses.

And in the middle of the clamor and excitement is Robin Hood and Zelena, walking arm-in-arm towards a white carriage.

"We're too late."


	9. Chapter 8

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** This chapter will be from Killian's perspective.

OH NO! Is it too late to get back to their reality? :( They were so close! Maybe they can figure something else out :)

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's effort to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 2,292

* * *

Killian watched as the light in Emma's eyes died. Her mouth turned down at the corners and her posture became slack; she was giving in, accepting defeat.

"No, there has to be something!" Henry argued with Emma. "If Regina just gets down there in time, maybe…"

When the lad trailed off uncertainly, Killian decided to step in, to try to save Emma's last hope for happiness. "Aye, the lad's right, love," Killian urged in a voice that sounded much more emphatic than he felt. "There must be something we can do!"

"What? Just tell me, what are we supposed to do?" The Regina woman barked out her eyes glossy as though she was fighting off tears. "Am I supposed to just waltz in there, tell Robin I'm his True Love and ask him to leave his new bride for me?"

"Maybe, I dunno. Isn't there some law where you can get divorced before a year and it doesn't count as a marriage?" Henry directed his question at Emma, ignoring the sarcastic edge in the other woman's voice.

"An annulment," Emma answered in a hollow voice. "You can get an annulment before a year's gone by and it completely erases the marriage; legally, the marriage never happened. But, Henry, that's back home. This is the Enchanted Forest; I doubt they have annulments."

"I have yet to hear of one of these annulments you speak of; however, a marriage is not legal until it has been consummated," Killian provided, feeling his cheeks burn hotly when he has to fight back thoughts of consummation with Emma.

Emma cleared her throat delicately, snapping out of her catatonic state at his words.

"You can't be serious!" Regina interjected. "Why should I even listen to you three lunatics anyway?"

"You're our only hope of getting back to the world we belong in, Regina," Emma reminds her, placing a hand on Regina's arm. "And this is for you, too. Robin is your True Love, your last hope of true happiness. Do you really want to sit back and let that go, without even trying to fight for it?"

Regina looked torn for a moment, but then roughly pulled her arm out from under Emma's hand and began walking towards Robin Hood, who Killian assumed was the man standing in front of the white carriage. He and his new wife were waving happily at the crowd who had gathered for their wedding. Just as she was entering the clearing, a few feet away from the crowd of people, an arrow came whizzing through the air and planted itself firmly in her back.

The crowd gasped as the woman staggered for a moment, before collapsing to her knees.

Killian barely had time to register her calling out Robin's name, before Emma and Henry were racing off toward the woman, him following close behind. She fell forward, landing hard on the dirt ground. They reached the woman about the same time as the Robin fellow did.

He gently removed the arrow and Emma was ready with a wad of cloth she had torn off of her tunic during her mad dash to her son's adopted mother. She pressed the material down on the wound and held it in place as the Robin and Henry gently rotated Regina to lie on her back.

"That should be plenty of pressure to stop the bleeding, but there's no telling what kind of internal injuries she has," Emma said worriedly, glancing around as if a healer would appear from nowhere to help the injured woman.

Killian laid a hand on Emma's shoulder, standing behind her kneeling form. She leaned backwards, letting her head rest on his upper thigh, and took a shaky breath in.

"Mom?" Henry called from his place beside Emma. He reached out to hold Regina's hand.

"It's okay, Henry," Regina said softly, a small smile gracing her lips for a mere second before pain contorted it.

"Regina?" Robin's voice was thick with emotion. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were getting married," the humor behind the statement was lost on Killian, but the two supposed True Loves laughed quietly at her words.

Suddenly, Emma was standing and stalking back in the direction they had come. Henry followed her movements with wide, frightened eyes.

"Stay here with your mother, lad. I'll see to Emma," Killian offered, following the stalking figure in front of him quickly.

"Swan, love," Killian called out, closing the distance between them. "What about that Regina woman?"

"Somebody had to fire that arrow, Hook," Emma replied tersely. He knew she wasn't upset with him, but it still hurt the way she used his much unloved moniker.

"Well, aren't you a clever one, dearie?" A high male voice sang out.

Emma spun back towards Killian, and he was momentarily frightened by the utter loathing in her glare, but quickly realized it was angled not at him, but just over his shoulder. He turned to see a man dressed all in white, sitting atop a beautiful steed.

"Rumplestiltskin," Emma seethed, stalking closer to him. Killian noticed the way she placed herself between him and the strange man, angling her body defensively. He didn't particularly like that, he'd much rather be protecting her. But he knew not to argue with his Swan, especially when she was so livid. "I should have known."

"Why, whatever do you mean, dearie?" The strange man said in the same sing-songy way. Killian found it quite irritating and especially hated the way the man said everything so loudly, as if it were utterly obvious and everyone else was a fool for not seeing it earlier.

" _Don't_ call me that," Emma bit out, her hands balling up into fists at her side. The wind began to pick up and Killian was astonished to see the sticks and pinecones that littered the forest floor around them were beginning to lift off the ground and hover a foot or so in the air, spinning lazily in circles.

"Emma," Killian called out cautiously, realizing it was her magic that was causing the chaos.

"I'm fine, Killian," Emma barked out, still facing this Rumplestiltskin man. The wind blew even harder- swirling past Killian, dancing through Emma's hair and ruffling the mane on the man's horse. "You did this," she directed at Rumplestiltskin.

As her hand flew up to point at the man accusingly, a flurry of wind, sticks and other debris flew at the man, knocking him off his horse. The beast ran away, frightened, but the man simply rose to his feet calmly.

"Is that the best you've got, _dearie_?" He sneered.

It angered Killian that this man was speaking to Emma in such a way, but he knew he couldn't let her hurt Rumplestiltskin. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she killed him, which she seemed very likely to do.

"Emma," Killian tried again, but he was pushed backwards, his feet seeming to slide along the forest floor as she flicked her wrist in his direction. It was a gentle blow, not meant to harm, but he couldn't believe she had used magic on him.

"Not even close," she yelled out. This time she shoved both hands out in front of her chest and sent even more things flying at the man. The wind seemed to hit him the hardest and he flew back a few feet, hitting a tree and falling flat on his face.

"Swan!" Killian yelled out, making his way in front of her to stop her before it was too late. "Emma, love, don't do this."

"You don't _understand_ , Killian," Emma practically pleaded. The wind was swirling her hair all around her shoulders, tugging it backwards and whipping it forwards- yet, she looked utterly beautiful in the chaos. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and she gazed up at Killian, her eyes begging him to understand, to let her finish it.

"No, Emma," Killian demanded, cupping her face with his good hand. "You're better than this. You are a _hero_ and this is not what heroes do."

His words seemed to physically hit her, because she staggered back a step, her face shocked. He was worried he might have caused her to pull away from him, but then she launched herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and began to sob furiously into his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, momentarily, but then he knew they couldn't stay there and wait for that Rumplestiltskin man to come to. Killian didn't know what he was capable of, but anyone who was able to incite such fear and loathing from someone as pure as his Swan was a force to be reckoned with.

Emma needed a few moments to grieve for whatever this man had taken from her, so Killian wordlessly scooped her into his arms. She shifted her hold on him slightly, allowing one arm to sling over his shoulder and clutch the back of his tunic while the other rested firmly over his heart.

He felt more than saw her time her uneven breathing with his as he walked her back towards the clearing where Regina and Henry were. He wanted her to be able to have a chance to compose herself before they made it back to the others, seeing as she was still crying into his shoulder, so he stopped just inside the tree line. If he tried, he could just barely make out the huddled forms stooping over Regina, but he was quite certain they couldn't see or hear him and Emma.

Killian spotted a large tree trunk that had recently been cut and he sat himself upon it, letting Emma's legs drape sideways over his thighs so she was cradled in his arms. His good hand began to rub soothing circles on her back while he let the curve of his hook pressed softly into the side of her farthest hip, pulling her closer to him and allowing his arm to rest softly across her lap. Part of him was quite thoroughly enjoying how close he was to her, but the bigger part of him was merely concerned with her emotional well-being and trying to come up with any way possible to comfort her.

"It's alright, love," Killian murmured softly. "It's just us now; it's going to be just fine."

He continued to mutter softly in her ear for another minute or two until she stopped crying. It was odd to see her cry, since she was so strong. Or perhaps, it was simply odd because she was still so strong while she cried. Killian had seen plenty of women crying- he was, after all, employed under Black Beard for many a year- and many sobbed without control, making hideous noises and blubbering about like the poor wretches they were.

But Emma cried like a warrior. She simply let the tears fall. Sure, her face was pained and heartbroken, but she didn't blubber or wail or whimper. She merely let herself feel the pain.

They sat for a few more moments in silence, until she pulled away slightly to wipe any remaining tears from her face.

"I probably look like a mess," she sighed out, reaching up to redo the pony's tail, or whatever she had called it, that had gotten even messier from the winds she had stirred up.

"I think you look beautiful," Killian amended, glancing up at her honestly, watching her hands move swiftly through her hair. He couldn't deny that he greatly appreciated the small blush that danced across her cheeks at his words.

She lowered her hands softly into her lap and her back grew awkwardly rigid, as though she was no longer comfortable in his lap. He didn't like how much her withdrawal hurt him.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. Her eyes met his and he was shocked at how vulnerable hers were.

"It's merely the truth, love," he replied, using his hook to tuck one stray strand of hair back behind her ears; it seemed shorter than the others and frequently wrangled its way out of her tail and into her face.

Her blush grew wider and she glanced down at her hands shyly before looking back up at him boldly. "Not just that. Thank you, Killian," she said, completely serious. She cupped his face with both of her hands and leaned down until her forehead rested on his. "Thank you for stopping me. I wouldn't have been able to-"

She stopped abruptly, but he knew what she meant.

His good hand trailed up her back, down her arm and held her hand firmly against his cheek. "I know, love," Killian said gently, bringing her palm forward to kiss it softly, before returning it to his cheek.

"We should get back, check on Regina," she muttered quietly, but didn't make a move to leave.

"Aye," he agreed halfheartedly, drinking in her presence.

They sat for a few more moments before she said, "They'll be getting worried."

"Then we should return to your lad, love," Killian agreed. She stayed in her place, not moving an inch, except the steady rise and fall of her chest. "I can't get up until you do, lass," he reminded her, knowing that she needed to be with her son and her friend.

"Oh, yeah, right," she stammered out, climbing gracelessly out of his arms and blushing wildly. "To Regina," she muttered, stalking off towards the others, seeming irritated with his chuckles.

He couldn't help himself; his Swan was just too adorable. Except when she stalked off away from him, because then she was downright hypnotizing with those swinging hips and-

He shook his head and stood up, following after his Swan.


	10. Chapter 9

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** You guys, I am so so  SO sorry for taking literally forever to update. It's been _way_ too long and I have absolutely no excuses. However, I am out of school for the summer, so I'll try to be much more vigilant about updating regularly. Hopefully, I'll make some kind of a schedule for myself or something.

Bad News: Sometime between the last time I updated and today (when I went to pick back up where I had ended in my Word Document), this said Word Document had some how gotten deleted. So the progress that I HAD made on Chapter 9 however many months ago that was, is lost.

Good News: I wrote a new Chapter 9

Thank you for those of you who are sticking with this fanfic even though it's been basically 18 years since I've updated

I'm one of those people who reads a million fanfics about the same pairings with super similar story lines and then gets them confused when it takes the author forever to update and then I have to make the decision of either rereading the whole fic or just trying to muddle my way through the chapter, piecing together clues to figure out what had happened in past chapters. So to help you out, I'm going to do a little recap.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 1,839

* * *

 **Previously on _Finding Home With You:_**

The story follows the episode where the Author rewrites the storybook to be "Heroes and Villains." Henry finds Hook to save Emma, Hook almost dies, but doesn't because I'm the author of this story and I say so. So, Emma finally realizes that not only does she love Killian, but he's her True Love. Since her magic comes from True Love and she's just found her True Love, it's coming back (but slowly bc then we really wouldn't have very much of a plot line if she could just poof everything back to normal). They convince Regina to find Robin Hood to find her happy ending and try to undo what the Author did, but they're a little late and Robin's already married. As Regina's walking towards him, Rumplestiltskin shoots her with an arrow. Emma goes after him, but Killian doesn't let her kill him (bc its Killy and he loves his Savior). There was some Captain Swan fluff (bc _hello_ it's a Captain Swan fanfic) and then the last chapter ended with Emma and Killian making their way back to Regina who is bleeding out in Robin and Henry's arms.

 **...**

Chapter 9

Emma rushed back over to the trio on the ground, barely glancing once at the crowd of wedding guests who were whispering anxiously among themselves. Regina had been her enemy for so long, and her parents' enemy long before that, but she couldn't help the ache in her heart when Regina's face- very pale and contorted in pain- came into view. She might not have known this Regina, but she had grown to see her Regina as a friend and an ally. Emma saw a lot of the real Regina's firey personality in this Regina, even if it was more of a muted sass than what she was used to.

"Mom!" Henry called out to Emma, before she had reached them. "Can't you do anything?"

Emma hated to see her kid in pain and hated it even more that she really wasn't sure she could do anything to stop it.

"I'm not sure, kid," she muttered softly, not wanting to get his hopes up. He moved from his spot at Regina's side to kneeling by her legs, giving Emma a space to work, anyways.

She knelt next to her old foe, glancing over at Henry with a cautious look. Emma let her hands hover over Regina and focused on the words the real Regina had said to her when she was first teaching her to use her magic on the bridge.

 _No more hand-holding. You have to do this. Reach into your gut. You know you can do this. It's inside you, Emma. Save the bridge. Save yourself._

Emma tried to do just that, she reached into her gut and tried to let her instinct take over. Regina was her ally. Regina was her friend. Regina was her son's _mother,_ she couldn't let her die. Especially not in front of him! He wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to her properly, just like with Neal.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but her hands began to shine with that bright, white light that had freaked her out just a few years ago.

More of Regina's teachings started to come back to her. She remembered trying to use the mirror to see how Ariel was doing, back when Zelena was out to get them all and cursed Hook's lips to take away her magic.

 _Well, you've focused. You've let emotions awaken your power. Now you have to look inward._

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips as she felt the familiar surge of energy. It was like a warm, slighlty bubbly feeling that flowed somewhere deep inside her, somewhere near her heart and trickled through her veins. It made her feel lighter, but somehow more tethered to the earth and everything around her. Emma decided to take a new approach, not knowing what kind of grasp she had on her powers in this new world, yet. They might not be as powerful as they were, since they no longer stemmed from her parent's True Love, she wasn't sure.

So, she focused on where the magic seemed to come from: her heart. She imagined that there were actually tiny bubbles in her chest and she traced them through her arms and into her long fingers which extended over Regina's body. She willed the bubbles to descend, pouring into Regina's heart and mingling with her blood, strengthening her body along their way. She pictured the bubbles flowing into Regina's wound and filling it up, blocking the blood flow and replacing the torn skin. She imagined the bubbles filling Regina's lungs with long, deep breaths and filling her cheeks with warmth instead of the pale, unhealthy tint they had been. She visualized Regina's eyes bursting open, filled with energy and fire.

Emma opened her eyes. The glow from her hands died down, until they were just her normal hands again. She wanted to slump over and take a nap; after not having magic for years, undertaking such a big task right away had drained her.

She glanced up at Regina's face, expecting to see those bright eyes she had pictured, but Regina's were still closed. Her cheeks were still ghostly white.

"I-I don't understand," Emma breathed out.

Eyes open this time, she called up her magic again- ignoring the exhaustion- and poured into Regina again. She tugged at Regina's shoulder to see if the wound had healed on her back. It had. Her magic was working, it had completely healed the wound- no scar, just like Killian's.

"This doesn't make any sense," Emma said louder, though she wasn't sure who she was talking to. She was vaguely aware of the sound of someone or maybe some people crying, but she couldn't take her eyes off Regina.

She narrowed her eyes in determination, reached deep inside of her for the purest kind of magic she could conjure, and poured into Regina once more. She held her hands over her, imagining the magic as waves this time. Waves that pulsed against Regina's heart and lungs to get them moving properly. Waves that pulsed against Regina's _unmoving_ heart and lungs to get them moving _period._

"No, no this isn't right. This doesn't make any sense," Emma barked out, straining against the weariness to keep her magic pouring into Regina. She had yet to relent, and she was starting to wear herself out. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, her mouth grimacing against the pain of pushing herself too far and her upper lip covered in sweat from the exertion. With a cry, Emma slumped down onto Regina's dead body, her power receding deep inside her where she couldn't feel it anymore.

"This isn't supposed to happen," she mummbled into Regina's stomach, her hands clenching Regina's slightly cooler one. Her head lifted and she started to glance around at all the people surrounding her. Her voice rose to a yell in her passion as she scrambled to her feet, "This wasn't supposed to happen! I healed her! Her wound is gone! This doesn't make any sense!"

Someone was holding her. Someone was running their hand up and down her back. Someone was talking in her ear.

She could hear people crying. She was sure it was more than one now. And she was mostly sure she was on of them, but she couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but close her eyes and collapse under the weight of everything. And as the world went black, she got one last glimpse of her dead friend who had a smile on her face.

* * *

 **Author's Note (CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM SEASON 5B):** IM SO SORRY!

I really didn't want to write that I promise. I love Regina in the show and I loved THIS Regina bc her hard shell was a lot easier to break through. And I really _**REALLY**_ wanted to break through it and write some Outlaw Queen, but with Robin being written off the show and all, I just didn't want to deal with the feels of that. So I wrote Regina off of the fic.

PLEASE DON'T HATE ME

It sort of needed to happen, either she dies with Robin (possibly) loving her, or Robin chooses Zelena over her. Bc Regina can't get her happy ending or the story is over, and it's much too short to be over already don't you think?

PLEEEEEASE DON't HATE ME

I really had to do it for the growth of the story

PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE DON'T HATE ME

ANYWAYS, if you've stayed this long, THANK YOU! YOU"RE AMAZING! I LOVE YOU! STAY TUNED!


	11. Chapter 10

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** I know that last chapter was _horrid_. And you all asked so nicely for more updates. So I decided to post another one as quick as possible.

Please don't leave, because I killed off a character for the continuation of the story line.

I mean it says **in the summary** that Regina doesn't get her happily ever after, so really I gave you guys a HUGE head's up.

Since Killy is the only good thing about this fic right now, I'll give you his perspective in this chap

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 3,560

* * *

Chapter 10

Killian didn't know what he would have done if Robin Hood hadn't been there to help him after Regina's death. Emma had collapsed in his arms and he had barely caught her inches off the ground. Her legs simply gave out and she toppled down, right next to the other women's body. Emma probably would have ended up in the grave right next to hers if Killian hadn't grabbed her arm just when he did. Her head was milliseconds away from smashing into the rocky ground. As it was, her arm was probably dislocated, or at least very nearly so, from the way he had stopped her fall by jerking on her wrist. As terrible as he felt about the pain he probably caused, he was more than relieved that he had caught her in time.

After he had gently laid her the rest of the way down, Killian had glanced over at the lad who clung to the dead woman's neck, just barely tighter than the Robin fellow did to her hand. The former had his head buried into her neck, while the later clutched her hand to his chest, occasionally bringing it up to his mouth to lay a soft kiss on the back of it.

Killian had stood by uncomfortably for a few seconds, glancing worriedly between Swan and her boy. Finally, during one of his worried glances towards Henry, he had caught Robin's eye. The man had laid one last kiss on the young woman's hand, before standing to his feet and taking charge of the situation. It had been Robin who addressed the crowd; though Killian wasn't listening to what he said, he noticed that the crowd gathered back in the small wooden building they had presumably been in for the wedding. He had also noticed that the Robin fellow's new bride seemed to have vanished.

Between the two of them, Robin and Killian had managed to convince Henry to let go of Regina. The lad had taken his time peeling himself off of one mother, but quickly crawled over to cling to the other. Killian had assumed the lad merely didn't want to see them taking away his late mother's body. Robin and Killian had carried the body out into the forest and buried it in a somewhat concealed clearing, leaving a seemingly meaningless pile of rocks about 4 feet high as a grave marker. Robin had said it was the respectful way he and his merrymen buried their fallen ones, as the stones wouldn't wilt or fall- unless purposefully knocked over- and therefore stood as an eternal marker that whoever lay there had been on this world and had left their mark. Killian had been happy to comply and used his hook to carve a large R into one of the top rocks, as he thought Emma or Henry might wish to visit later and a grave marker would assure them they were in the right spot.

When they had made it back to the clearing, they found Henry had fallen asleep with his head on Emma's abdomen. Robin had carried Henry and Killian had carried Emma. They found another inn and then Robin had left to find his new bride, but not without first telling Killian how important it was for Killian to take every opportunity he had to tell the women he loved- whoever she may be- that he loved her, because he never knew when those opportunities might stop coming over- forever.

So there Killian sat, at his love's side, pondering the day's events.

It had been one very long, very eventful day. He had been miraculously cured, then found his True Love and then witnessed her friend's death.

Robin's words echoed in his head. Killian was sure that Robin had meant he loved Regina, so he couldn't figure out why he had married some other woman. When Killian looked at Emma, it was like there was no other maidens throughout the entire seven seas. From the moment he met her, he knew he would never meet anyone like her ever again. And when he found out she was his True Love, he had assumed her life-altering affect on him had been due to the fact that she was his True Love. That the words True Love in and of themselves, meant that he could never be happy with anyone else after meeting her.

Yet, Robin had married another.

It was beyond him. He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Luckily for him, he had other, more pleasant things to occupy his mind. Like the way Emma's face, contorted in exhaustion and agony just a few hours ago, completely relaxed in her sleep. She was peaceful once more. Killian knew it wouldn't last. When she woke up, she would once again wear that deep frown that seemed to tug the outter corner of her eyes down with it. Or worse, she would cry those strong, silent tears like she had after her encounter with Rumplestiltskin in the forest. Those were at least better than the gut-wrenching, heart-breaking sobs after Regina's death.

Killian had never seen her in so much anguish before. She must have been really close to this Regina women in her other reality.

Realization struck.

If Regina was dead, Emma had lost her only ticket back to her real world. It finally made sense, the way she completely broke down earlier. Killian had never thought Emma one to wail or faint. He knew she was stronger than that. But now he saw that she was not only mourning the death of a friend and mourning for her son's loss of a mother, but she was also dealing with the loss of an entire life. She was grieving over her parents' lost love, her friends and loved ones and all their happy endings. She was mourning the death of her Killian.

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, thinking of so much loss. No wonder the poor lass had fainted. The stress and the pain of it all must have been too much. Here he was, tearing up and gasping for breath and he couldn't even remember the reality she knew. She would never see her home again. She would probably never see her parents again. And she would have to live knowing that everyone she loved was suffering, when she knew exactly what they all needed to make them happy again.

A single tear fell down his face for the misery of his Swan, but he quickly swiped it away.

He decided then and there, to strive to be the Killian Jones she remembered. He vowed to every god he knew that he would love her unconditionally and do everything in his power to make her happy as often as possible. He would be that proud, witty captain who had been worthy of her love and trust.

He was no stranger to misery or to loss. He knew he couldn't expect her to be happy right away. He would give her as much time to grieve as she needed, but he wouldn't let her sulk in it. No matter how angry she got with him, if she wallowed too long in self-misery, he wouldn't be his usually timid self and worry from a distance. Because she deserved more than that.

He didn't know how long he sat there, watching her sleep. Long enough to fortify his plans of becoming worthy of his dear Swan. Long enough for him to build the courage to take action when necessary, whether initiating contact or pushing her when she needed it. Long enough for the sun to sink far beneath the horizon and the moon to come out and cast a delicious new light across her Swan's pale face. Long enough to hear Henry thrashing in his sleep, which caused him to finally look up from Emma's face.

Killian glanced over at the other bed, where Henry's head was swiveling back in forth in his sleep. Killian was unsure of what to do at first, but when the lad started calling out for his mother- which one, Killian wasn't sure, but he presumed both- he knew he couldn't stand by and let the poor boy suffer.

He hurried over to the lad, not wanting Henry's cries to wake Emma back to a world of pain and misery just yet. At first he tried to merely whisper the boy's name, hoping it would snap him out of his night terror. It didn't work. Tentatively, Killian reached out to lay a hand on the lad's arm. Henry's cries died down somewhat, but his thrashings were just as agitated as before.

Killian was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was entirely too unfamiliar with the boy and whatever behavior the boy might expect from him due to their relationship or possible lack thereof in Swan's other reality. Yet, he didn't like seeing the boy in such misery and he didn't want Emma to awaken.

Steeling his nerves, Killian dipped his good hand behind the lad's neck- the way his father had once held his in affection, his fingers pressed firmly but gently against the back of his neck and his palm resting on the side, his thumb coming up to swipe comfortingly just above his jawline- and called his name.

It took Henry a few seconds to blink himself fully awake. When he did, Killian thought he almost seemed relieved to see him.

"I was having a nightmare." It was a statement, but Killian nodded in affirmation anyways. "Did I wake Mom?"

"No, lad, your mother's still sound asleep," Killian assured him.

"Today, that really... I mean. It wasn't all a nightmare, huh? My mom- my other mom, I mean- she's...she's gone, isn't she?" Henry asked, his voice strong but his tears flowing freely over the sides of his cheeks.

"I'm afraid so, lad," Killian muttered ruefully, watching as Henry rubbed the tears away with only his right hand. Killian wondered if he did it so he wouldn't cause Killian's hand to leave his neck. That's why Killian had done the same thing with his father, when he would wake him from his night terrors in the same manner.

"So we're-" Henry had to swallow down the emotion in his voice. "So we're stuck here. In this reality, I mean. Without Mom, without Grandma or Gramps. Without any of our friends. Without any hope," Henry's voice caught on the last word. Tears were flowing too fast to wipe away now.

Killian wasn't sure what made him do it, but he pulled Henry up into a sitting position and then into his chest. He held the lad against him as he cried, shedding a few tears himself for the great misery of someone much too young. He didn't attempt to rub his back or mutter into his ear and tell him everything was going to be okay. Henry didn't need to be told to cheer up. He needed to grieve. He needed someone to understand that he was in pain and to just let him be sad. So Killian merely held the boy, the side of his hook pressed into his back and his hand cupping his neck as Henry sobbed into his shoulder, his small hands balling up the fabric on Killian's chest.

Eventually, the loud shuddering breaths of his sobbing silenced, but Killian could still feel the warm wetness of tears on his neck. He still held Henry.

Eventually, the dampness on his neck turned cold, without the addition of fresh hot tears to warm it up, but those hands were still in fists in his shirt. He still held Henry.

Eventually, the fists loosened. He held Henry for a few more minutes. Then he lay him back down in his bed and pulled the blankets over him.

Killian sat there for a few more minutes, scanning Henry's face. He gently wiped away the tears that still lingered on Henry's cheeks. He looked for Emma in Henry's face. He saw her in his strong set jaw line. He saw her in his rounded chin. He saw her in the peaceful way Henry's face completely relaxed in sleep. He wondered if Emma ever looked for herself in her lad. On the surface, they didn't look much alike. Their hair was the complete opposite. His eyes were just a bit too dark to pass for green. Their lips were somewhat similar, when hers weren't pulled down in that deep frown of hers.

"A watched pot never boils," Emma's monotone voice broke him out of his reverie.

Kilian's head shot to the right to see Emma sitting up slightly in bed and his eyes scanned Emma's face for any signs of distress. It just seemed completely blank, which could be worse.

"What was that, love?" He asked lightly, standing from his seat on Henry's bed.

"Nothing. That's kind of creepy, you know. Waking up to find you starring at my son while he sleeps," she said in that same distant voice, not looking at him.

Killian thought he could see what was happening. She was trying to use some kind of humor or sarcasm to build up those walls Henry had told him about.

"If it makes you feel any better, I watched you sleep for a lot longer," Killian responded with a light air, hoping to catch her off guard by playing her own game.

It seemed to work. One corner of her mouth turned up slightly in a smile, but she ducked her head away from him before he could see. Killian took the opportunity to make his way over to the bed and climb into his side, toeing off his boots and unscrewing his hook before sliding under the covers. He knew the night was more than halfway over by then, but they didn't exactly have anything scheduled tomorrow, or any day after that to be frank.

Killian finished settling himself in and turned to tell Emma goodnight, but even though her face was turned away from him, the shaking in her shoulders let him know that she was crying. He softly tugged her down next to him and pulled her into his chest, his bad arm wrapping around her back and resting on her waist. He wasn't confident enough to take the cuff off of his stubbed arm just yet around her, so he was worried the weight of the leather contraption might hurt her, but she didn't make any complaints. His good hand brought hers up to his mouth and he took his time kissing each knuckle while she cried into his chest.

He was done with his task long before her, so he took to stroking her hair, carefully avoiding the tangles so he wouldn't hurt her.

Eventually, the loud shuddering breaths of her sobbing silenced, but Killian could still feel the warm wetness of tears on his chest. He still held Emma.

Eventually, the dampness on his chest turned cold, without the addition of fresh hot tears to warm it up, but her hand drew gentle patterns over where he had been stabbed. He still held Emma.

Eventually, the patterns stopped. He held Emma for a few more minutes.

Then she took in a deep breath and said, "I'm a terrible mother." And the tears started up once again.

"No you aren't, love," Killian protested.

"But I am," she muttered back. "I heard Henry having a nightmare, it woke me up. But I just laid there. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to face the world. I let my son suffer. And you, you were wonderful. You went over there and comforted him, while I laid here in my self-misery and self-loathing. He never had a father. His father abandoned us long before I knew I was pregnant and Regina raised him all on his own. Then, when his father finally did come back in his life, eleven years later, Henry absolutely adored him. Would have given the world to be with him. But he was only in Henry's life for a little while before we lost our memories and spent a year away. And then you found a way back to us and you restored my memory and you brought us back to Storybrooke and Henry got to see his father again, but he didn't have any of his memories. Neal died and Henry didn't even know who he was, until it was too late. And just now, you acted like his father. I don't mean you acted how Neal would have, although I'm sure Neal would have tried to comfort him. You acted like you were his father and you comforted him in the best way possible and I can't thank you enough for being there for him when I couldn't be bothered to do it myself."

Emma was crying harder now and her voice was full with emotion.

But Killian wouldn't stand for that kind of talk.

"Emma Swan, you listen to me," he demanded, pulling her face up to meet her eyes in the pale light of the moon. She looked bewildered by his force, but didn't say anything, simply listened. "You are not a terrible mother. You are beyond a doubt one of the most loving and selfless and devoted mothers I have seen in all my years. Granted, I haven't seen very many mothers aboard the Jolly Roger," he consented, when he saw her mouth open to argue. "However, I have seen my fare share throughout all the ports we've docked at and a wide variety of cultures at that. You suffered a great loss, love. You need time to grieve, to mourn, to feel the pain and to heal. You can't do that if you're trying to heal everyone around you. Your instinct around Henry is to protect and heal, is it not? It's your maternal nature to do so. But you can't fix him if you're not fixed. Have you ever seen a man with a sprained ankle carry a man with a broken foot? No, because the former is in no condition to help the latter. He let's a man without any injuries help the man with the broken foot while he goes to see an apothecary about getting his sprained wrapped. I can see that it's your nature to always take matters into your own hands, Swan, but why don't you let me take it from here. I can see to you and your boy just fine. You need to let yourself feel so you can heal, love. Okay?"

It was quiet for a few minutes, but Killian could feel more than see Emma shaking with a new onslaught of sobs.

"I'm sorry, love, have I upset you more?" He asked gently.

"No," Emma breathed out, wiping away the tears as much as possible. He gave her a few seconds to calm down before she continued, "I just...I love you, Killian Jones. Thank you. For everything. For taking care of me and my kid. For saying exactly what I needed to hear right now and so much more. For being my True Love."

"It's my pleasure, love," he said with warmth, placing a kiss on her head. "Rest now, my love. You've had a long day."

He felt her snuggle into his chest and his eyes grew heavy with much needed sleep. Just as her breathing was getting deeper, he muttered, "I love you, too, my lovely Swan."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This one's a little longer and A LOT fluffier to try to soothe the hurt from the last chapter. So what do you think? Isn't Daddy Killy just adorable? I had so much fun writing this sweeter side of him! I'd love to hear what you guys think


	12. Chapter 11

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** This is the longest chapter I've ever written so I hope you guys enjoy! I don't have much to say, except that I love to hear your guys' feedback so please keep commenting and messaging me!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 4,211

* * *

Chapter 11

A pulsing ache in her left shoulder was the first thing that Emma registered as she woke up. The next was the blinding sun turning her eyelids a bright pink color and making the blankets that she was under feel stifling hot.

Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, kicked the blankets off her and rolled onto her right side to alleviate some of the pain. In this new position, she tried to force herself back into peaceful unconsciousness, not wanting to face the day just yet. The ache in her shoulder and the throbbing of an oncoming headache kept her from falling back asleep, though. Sighing loudly, Emma rolled onto her back and looked around her at the room she was in.

She assumed it was another inn by the lack of personalization in the room. The walls, which were off-white, held years of dents and dirt smudges on them without any décor to hide or distract from the flaws. There was a nightstand on Killian's side of the bed that held a silver tray with mostly empty bowls and plates- probably from breakfast that she had slept through. Killian's side of the bed was empty and it looked as though he had done his best to straighten the covers with her still in the bed, which she had then kicked down. Henry's bed was empty, too, but the kid hadn't even tried to make the bed. She wasn't surprised. As a kid, she hadn't been one to make a bed either- actually, she still wasn't.

Emma had no idea where Killian and Henry might be, so she grabbed the knapsack with that horrible dress Henry had nabbed her and took off to find the owner of the inn to ask about taking a bath. It had been years since she had taken a nice hot bath in either reality. Although she knew she would miss running water and the massage features on shower heads, she was overjoyed to finally be taking a bath after all that time locked up in the tower.

The lady on the first floor who seemed to be somewhat in charge, gave her a key for the washroom and her own bar of soap, towel and comb. A comb would be a little harder to work with than a brush, but it would have to do. At least she could finally get all those tangles out.

Emma didn't know how long she spent in the washroom- she struggled for at least 10 minutes just trying to figure out how she was supposed to get hot water in the metal contraption that barely passed for a bath tub and even then, she ended up just using magic to fill it in the end- but it was long enough for her to have to refill the tub with clean, hot water twice. She had never scrubbed herself so hard or so thoroughly in her life.

Her feet and hands had dirt caked in the cracks of her skin and there was grime beneath her nails. She had blood stained on her from both Hook and Regina, the latter of which she tried her best not to think about. She washed her face a few times, trying to erase the pain with the tear stains she cleaned off. Her hair she saved for last and it ended up taking the longest. She had to repeatedly dunk her hair in the water to help ease the comb through the tangles and when she was finally through with untangling the mangy locks, her arms ached too badly to reach up and wash her hair, so she had to take a break. When she finally could reach her hands up to her hair, she washed it so many times that she ran out of soap.

Feeling like a brand new person, she stepped out of the bath and into the slightly scratchy towel, missing her soft, plush towels and matching bath robe that she had bought when her and Henry were living in New York. She looked in the aged mirror hanging on the wall and barely recognized the woman who starred back at her.

Her hair was cleaner and smoother than she had seen it in years. Her skin no longer had a permanent film of dirt. But it was the emptiness in her gaze, the bags under her eyes, the hollowness of her too-pale cheeks, the deep set lines of a frown that seemed to add years onto her that really shocked her.

Part of her brain connected the image it was seeing now to another she had seen almost 14 years ago. It was right after she had first been arrested in Arizona. During one of the rare times when she let herself feel the pain of Neal abandoning her, a guard had walked by with a tray of food and Emma had happened to look up at just the right moment from where she lay on her cot to be able to see her own reflection on the underside of the silver tray.

She supposed she felt now much of the same emotions she had felt then, only amplified more. When Neal let her take the fall for the stolen watches, she had lost the only family she knew and been torn from her way of life.

If she thought about it that way, that she was only going through a similar situation that she had been in when she was just a young, stupid kid, then it was a lot easier for her to deal with. She got through it once, so she could do it again. This time was better, because now she had Henry and Killian. She would focus on them- the best and greatest things that had ever happened to her- and they would help her move on to a better life.

She could do this.

She _would_ do this.

Emma hadn't consciously meant to change her facial expression, but she now saw that her lips were pressed together in determination and her eyes had gained a bit of their normal fire. Even her eyebrows seemed to be slightly raised, as if challenging the world to try to stop her from fighting her way back to the top.

Moving her gaze from her reflection to the dreaded gown that Henry had snagged for her, sent her into a different kind of agony. She did _not_ want to smash her ribs into another one of those death contraptions. It had taken her quite a while to get used to the way the corset crushed her lungs and discover the easiest way to breathe the first time around, when her and Hook had time traveled. But she couldn't deny the glee she had felt when he had told her how good she looked.

A small smile graced her lips at the memory.

In a sudden swirl of gray smoke, Emma was completely dressed with her hair dried and in loose curls down her back. Glancing around she saw her hands glowing with magic. A blush heated her cheeks. Somehow, just the thought of how Killian would look at her in this dress had made her unconsciously dress herself in it.

It took her a while of uncomfortably short breaths to decide whether or not to keep the dress on. It was huge and tight and she wasn't really one for dresses and she would rather just wear jeans and her leather jacket. But, she had to fit in here and it was cleaner than her one other outfit and, well, Killian. She was excited- and a little anxious, even if she wouldn't admit it- to see what this Killian thought of her in this dress.

He had surprised her more than a few times with his forwardness after seeming so shy in the beginning. She wondered if he would just blush and look flustered like the Killian who had rescued her from the tower, or issue an intimately sweet compliment like it was common knowledge like he did after her encounter with Rumplestiltskin- like her Killian in the real world always did, long before she had admitted her feelings about him to even herself. Maybe he might even act like the rapscallion Hook she had first met when her and Mary Margaret had gotten sucked in the Hatter's portal or when she time traveled and had to distract Hook so Killian could get Snow White on the right track to meeting Prince James.

She honestly wasn't sure which one she preferred. She loved all sides of him and loved the affect she had on all versions of him.

Sure, he had seen her in a dress when he rescued her from a tower, but she had been chained up for years and the dress was ratty and old and dirty. This dress was more like the one she had stolen off a villager's laundry line when her and Hook had first landed in the Enchanted Forest, but slightly nicer. The bodice was the same leather material which worked to squish all her insides into a much smaller area than their used to, but did wonders for her figure. It was dyed a strange rustic blue color that matched the blue and green skirts- which were _huge_ thanks to the god forsaken hoop skirt underneath.

On the chair that the dress had been laying on, was a pair of dark forest green gloves and a folded up piece of blue fabric. Emma assumed it was another one of those weird cape-hood combos that everyone seemed to wear in the Enchanted Forest. She remembered that the dark green one she had worn when she time traveled had been surprisingly light for all the warmth it offered. She pulled this one around herself- watching as the deep blue fabric fanned out, then came swishing to a stop around her skirts- and fastened the gold clasp across her collarbones.

Fully dressed, she faced herself in the small, dingy mirror once more. Her face had some color back to it and her eyes shone a brighter green than before, accentuated by the dress. She nodded once at herself, approving of the changes- inside and out- that had occurred since she'd woken up. Then she grabbed the gray tunic and pants that she had been wearing since she found them in the Jolly Roger and headed out the door. She returned the washroom key to the lady at the front desk, who gushed about how lovely she looked. Her compliments caused Emma to walk back to the room with a smile on her face.

The second she opened the door, Henry and Killian's head snapped towards her. They both looked worried at first, but their faces soon changed as they took in her appearance. Henry glanced at her outfit for a brief moment but then settled his eyes back on her face, looking bewildered by her small smile.

Killian, however, took a much longer time taking in her attire.

His eyes did a general glance over her whole ensemble, but then started darting rapidly from her face to the gloves to the skirts to the bodice and back to her face, as if he was trying to drink in her entire look. Despite herself, Emma felt herself blush and her smile widen.

"Mom? Are you okay? Where have you been?" Henry asked. She looked at him more directly, trying to ignore the feeling of Killian's eyes on her, and felt ashamed that she hadn't yet noticed the swelling around his eyes from crying.

"I feel like I should be asking you that," she responded, walking further in the room to place the folded clothes in her hands onto the bed. She felt Killian's eyes move with her, but continued to address Henry. "I woke up all alone."

"Oh, yeah. Well, you didn't wake up when we had breakfast- and believe me, we were _not_ quiet about it- so we figured you needed the sleep," Henry shrugged. Emma noticed that he didn't answer the question, so she tilted her head to the side and raised one eyebrow- the Mom Look. He sighed, "We went out to get some supplies and listen for any news about the Queen being on our trail. That's why we were so worried when we came back. We heard there were some Black Knights in the village and we thought they had gotten you while we were out."

That explained their worried looks.

"Sorry, kid. I was in the bath. First time I've had a bath in, well, too long. I finally feel like myself again," Emma admitted, letting a lopsided smile pull up one side of her mouth. Then she rolled her eyes and batted at her poofy skirts, "Well, as close to me as I can get in this horrid thing."

She heard Killian scoff from the other side of the room.

Emma turned her head slightly to look at him. "Can I help you with something?" She challenged, raising her eyebrows.

He had a goofy looking grin on his face as he said, "What you call horrid, I would call magnificent."

"That's because your internal organ aren't being rearranged by it," she retorted, but was unable to wipe that grin off his face.

He looked her up and down, before cheekily replying, "Your discomfort is a cross I'm willing to bear."

Emma's heart almost stopped. She remembered Hook saying those exact same words to her when he saw her in almost the same outfit during the time travel adventure. Could it be possible that her Hook was somewhere inside this Killian? Either way, she had loved the butterflies his words had given her them and she loved them even more now.

If nothing else, this direct connection from the real reality was a confirmation that in any time, place or world, Emma Swan and Killian Jones were meant to be together.

"Gross," Henry muttered.

Emma giggled, winking at Killian before turning back towards Henry.

"So what you're saying is we need to get moving before we get found," she said, acting as if Killian's interruption had never happened.

"That would probably be best," Henry shrugged. "We have some food and clothes and stuff packed up. Just in case we have to go hide in the woods for a while or something."

"Smart thinking, kid," Emma smiled proudly at him. "We should look for some small little cottage or something out of the way in the country. We'll travel mostly through the woods, so no one can say they saw us. I can use my magic to cover our trail and build us shelter if we ever get stuck out in the woods. I don't know much about this world, but maybe we could make it to a port and sail away somewhere Mom and Dad can't find us. Is there anywhere you can think of where we'd be safe, Killian?"

Her and Henry turned to see Killian looking anxiously back at them. "Oh, um, let's see. Somewhere safe. Right, well, I've been to quite a few ports on distant shores, but I'm not quite sure of how the people live beyond each port, you see. I know of a place called Arendelle, where the Evil Queen's hold does not reach, but I haven't heard very many positive things about the Queen there. They say she keeps mostly to herself and never allows her sister, the princess, to go beyond the walls of the castle. Her people do not know her, but she is not cruel, like the Queen of the Enchanted Forest."

"Arendelle, alright. I don't remember that in any fairy tales, but it could be worth a shot," Emma allowed. "So, then, that's our plan. We'll make our way in secret to the closest port and then buy passage on ship headed towards Arendelle. How much of Black Beard's money do we have left?" She asked Henry.

"Black Beard's money? By the gods! What do you mean, 'Black Beard's money?'" Killian practically shouted, his face turning ghostly white.

Emma approached him, laying her hand over the place where her father had stabbed him. "Killian, it's fine. He doesn't have any control over you anymore. I knew we would need some money, so while we were on the ship, I grabbed his bag of money or whatever you guys call a wallet here."

"You stole Black Beard's purse?" He wondered, his eyebrows raising.

Emma couldn't help laughing. "It's called a purse? Oh, man, if you only knew how hilarious that sounded. A big tough guy like Black Beard having a purse," she chuckled out.

Killian did not seem soothed by her antics, but they didn't have time for explanations. Emma placed the outfit that was folded on the bed into one of the three knapsacks that were against the wall. She was slightly curious whether Henry was buying or stealing these bags, but didn't really care enough to ask.

Picking up the one she just added her clothes to, Emma did a last look around the room to make sure there was no evidence that it had been them in particular who had slept there, before heading out the door, knowing her boys would follow.

When she got downstairs, she asked the woman at the front desk which road she should take to head farther inland.

"My husband gets awfully seasick, you see. Even the distant smell of salt water and fish carried on an odd gust of wind can throw him off for days," she lied right through her teeth, slipping her arm around Killian's glancing sympathetically at him.

"Oh, you poor dear!" Gushed the woman. "Just head north on this road the inn is on and at the fork, head east. East, mind you, not west. West will take you straight into port, and we wouldn't want that."

"No, no we wouldn't! I can't thank you enough," Emma gushed back, silently complimenting her acting skills.

"You have a good day now, dears," the woman said, waving at them.

They all waved back at her, before heading out of the door.

They walked for a few moments in silence, Emma's hand still curled around Killian's bicep.

"You're bloody brilliant, Swan," Killian blurted out randomly.

"I know," was Emma's immediate, teasing response. After a second she added, "But why, exactly?"

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back towards the inn, "That, back there. Asking how to head inland to trick her into telling you how to get to port."

"That way, if anyone finds out we were there and asks her about it, she'll lead them in the wrong direction," Emma finished, smiling brightly at her own plan.

"Mom is really good at finding people who don't want to be found, so she knows what _not_ to do to not get found," Henry explained, looking proudly at Emma.

Killian quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

Emma shrugged one shoulder, modestly accepting Henry's compliment. "Back home I was a bail bondsperson. In our reality, when you break the law and get put in jail, you can pay a certain amount of money depending on what you did to get out. But usually, people can't afford that, so bondsman or a bond agency pay the money for them, under the agreement that they'll go to court hearings to try to get proven innocent and then pay them back. Some people run away from their responsibilities, so a bondsperson chases them down and brings them back to court, that way the court will give them the money back."

Killian was openly gaping at Emma now. "You mean to say that you hunted down criminals? For your job?"

"I guess that's one way to put it," Emma said. "It wasn't ever dangerous, though. I usually would track them down on the internet, catfish them on social media and then arrange a date, where I would wait until they walked in and then put a boot on their car so they couldn't drive away and then as soon as I sat down I would tell them why I was really there and then force them to drive back to court with me."

Henry looked amazed, finally understanding what it was Emma had been doing, as she had never explained it to him. Killian just looked more confused.

"Let me try it a different way," Emma suggested. "If I was a bail bondsperson here, I would ask around until someone told me the last place they saw them. Then I would write letters to them under another pen name- fake love letter. Then I asked them to dinner at, what do you call it, like a tavern? And I would wait outside the tavern until they tied up their horse and then I'd let the horse loose so they couldn't use it to escape me. Then I'd walk into the tavern, tell them I was there to take them to court and ask them to come quietly. Usually they don't, so when they run outside and see there horse is gone, I'd walk up and tell them to get into my carriage, or whatever those horse and buggy things are called. Does that make more sense?"

Killian still looked a little confused, but he nodded his head. It was then that they came to the fork in the road. Emma stopped, but didn't even have time to start thinking about which way east and west might be, because Killian was already headed down the road to the right.

"Woah, are you sure this is the right way?" Emma asked, stumbling to catch up with him after her slight hesitation, since her hand was still looped through his arm.

Killian chuckled, glancing down at her, "Of course!"

"But you didn't even check the sky," Henry pointed out.

Killian laughed harder. "What a strange thing to say, little lad. Of course I didn't check the sky. A sailor always has his wits about him when it comes to directions. It's like there's a compass in here," he pointed to his chest, "that's always guiding my way."

Emma shook her head incredulously. "Whatever you say."

"You don't believe me!" Accused Killian.

Emma shrugged, half-heartedly.

"I could be led in cirlces through the deepest forest whilst blindfolded and still have my bearings," he declared, pulling Emma to a stop to face her head on.

"Okay then," Emma said mischievously. "Prove it."

"You wish me to wander in circles in a forest whilst blindfolded to prove to you that I know my cardinal directions?" He summarized, one eyebrow cocked.

"What, are you scared?" Emma challenged.

"Oh, boy," Henry sighed out, knowing how competitive both his mother and the pirate were.

"Of a little princess who can't distinguish north from south?" Killian teased.

Emma glared at him playfully, before magically conjuring a blindfold in her hand. She tied it around Killian's eyes and then proceeded to walk him around in circles and zigzags and loops until Henry finally reminded her that they were trying to get out of the country before her parents tracked her down and killed her.

Realizing she was being silly and that Henry was right about them needing to get moving, she stopped walking. Facing Killian she asked him to point out the different directions to her. He got them all right of course, even though it took her a few minutes of thinking to verify the directions.

Partially annoyed by his cocky grin, but mostly impressed by his talents, she stalked off in front of the boys, smiling softly to herself.

So, maybe she still hadn't really faced reality and finished grieving over the loss of her home and the death of her friend, but at least she did have the two greatest guys in the world to keep her entertained and focused on the future. Arendelle, here they come.


	13. Chapter 12

**Title:** Finding Home With You

 **Warning:** Contains spoilers from Season 4.

 **Author's Note:** So, I know the last chapter was a lot of filler fluffiness going on, so I tried to make this chapter more content-filled, but then the fluff just sort of took over.

Also, since in this reality, Rumlestiltskin is a good person and therefore wouldn't have interfered with Ingrid's life and given him the urn that she eventually makes Anna use on Elsa. Long story short: anything Frozen related in this fic will more closely resemble the Disney movie than the story line in Season 5A.

Please keep commenting! More feedback makes me want to update quicker.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters.

 **Summary:** (Lieutenant Duckling!AU) What would have happened if Emma and Henry couldn't help Regina get her happily ever after? Now stuck in the story the Author wrote them into, Emma and Henry will have to start a new life in the Enchanted Forrest. With a little help from a timid sailor, Killian Jones. But plagued by the new Evil Queen, the three will have to continuously dodge Snow's efforts to hunt them down and end them.

 **Word Count:** 3,840

* * *

Chapter 12

Making it to port would be easier than they thought. Once they got closer, Killian recognized where they were and determined that the inn they had stayed in ended up being only about a day and a half's journey away. Emma used her magic to build them a quaint little hut for the night, since they weren't near any towns or villages when the sun began to set. She put what she called a protection spell on the hut and then provided them with comfortable enough bedding to sleep on, instead of the hard ground. Killian was thoroughly impressed, especially when a gray smoke covered her for but a moment and then revealed her to be in a nightdress, the clothes she had been wearing ending up folded neatly in the corner.

"What the- I forgot real pajamas aren't a thing here," she groaned, grimacing at the long sleeves that ended in a ruffled cuff.

"What are these 'pajamas' you speak of?" Killian inquired, willing himself to look at her eyes and not at the way the sheer fabric clung to her figure.

"It's like an outfit made for sleeping," Henry piped up, laughing slightly at Emma's look of disgust. Then he turned towards his mother, "Do me next, mom."

Emma flicked her wrist towards Henry, who was covered by the same looking smoke cloud before it disappeared to show him standing in a nightdress similar to his mother's. Killian could notice the slight differences between the male and female night clothes, but it was very evident that the other two could not. Henry groaned louder than Swan had, before whining that Emma had put him in a dress on purpose. Emma merely laughed.

"What's the matter, lad?" Killian asked, confused at the pink in his cheeks.

"What do you mean, what's the matter? Mom put me in a _dress_ ," Henry compained, glowering at his still laughing mother.

"I didn't _mean_ to," Emma protested through her laughter. "I just sort of... _willed_ you to be in pajamas."

"It's not a dress, Henry. It's a night shirt," Killian explained.

"Same thing. Mom's just mad because women only wear nightgowns to bed here so she's trying to make me suffer along with her," Henry argued with his arms crossed angrily.

Emma finally calmed down and said, "Hey, have a little more faith in me than that. Do you really think I'm _that_ petty, kid?"

"I don't understand," Killian admitted, frowning at the pair. "What is the problem with your night clothes?"

Mother and son shared a glance before looking at Killian incredulously.

"It's a dress," Emma stated, her voice trailing off in a way that made it seem as though it should be obvious.

Killian walked over to the corner of the hut where Emma's dress had magically appeared after her puff of smoke and held up the gown, "No, _this_ is a dress. With all it's heavy material and laces and buttons and the corset. _Those_ ," he laid down the dress and gestured at the pair before him, "are night shirts. They are not the same, though you make it seem as though they are. Night shirts are, well, for lack of a better term, they are considered an undergarment. Typically only married couples see each other in their night dresses, since they are so thin," he stumbled over his words, scratching the back of his head awkwardly to avoid eye contact. "You'll notice, we wear a lot of layers here, so something as thin as a nightshirt is usually covered with a thick robe when not in bed. And Henry, lad, you've got the male version on so I don't see why you're so upset. Your neckline is higher and there are no frills at the hem or neckline. Plus, your mother's night dress is much longer, to hide her legs. These pajamas you speak of must be very different than what we have here for you to be so little accustomed to our sleeping attire."

The pair stood silent, gaping at him for a few moments. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked anywhere but at Emma. He had, after all, just told her that only married couples saw each other in their night clothes when there she stood before him, in only a thin nightdress.

"Now I understand Ruby's outfit choices," Emma muttered.

Killian was confused by this statement, but became even more bewildered when after a few seconds her and Henry burst out in laughter.

"I don't follow," he admitted, when they had calmed down a little.

"Oh, it's just the leg thing," Emma explained. "As in, that's _not_ a thing in our reality. Women rarely cover their entire legs unless their wearing pants because it's cold."

Killian flushed slightly at the impropriety of such a thing, yet couldn't help but feel jealous of his other self who got to live in this reality where his Swan wasn't covered head to toe.

"Imagine his face if he saw you in that pink dress you were wearing when I first met you," Henry teased, nudging Emma with his elbow.

"Hey!" Emma protested. "That was a very respectable dress! It almost reached my knees."

Killian's eyes widened. A dress that short was considered _respectable?_ It took every bit of his self control to keep himself from imagining this pink dress or a world where such fashion was the norm.

"Look at his face!" Henry was laughing so hard his face was red.

Killian's was very red, too, but for an entirely different reason. He was beyond uncomfortable and now very much embarrassed.

Emma swatted Henry's arm lightly, "Give the poor man a break. Go on, kid, get in bed."

Henry did as he was told, but was still chuckling lowly as he did so. Killian's embarrassment lessened only slightly. His face began to feel cooler, until Emma turned her full attention on him.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he looked around to determine where he'd sleep, to distract him. It was only then that he realized what Emma had done. She had set up their little hut just like the inns. In the inns there was one big bed and one small bed, so naturally the two of them had to share a bed. But Killian thought they were only doing that out of necessity. Now he saw that was not the case; on the floor of the hut there was a small mattress that Henry was settling into on one side and a large one on the other. Apparently, Emma saw them sleeping in the same bed as a permanent situation and didn't even mind that her lad was in the same room. Killian was not going to argue or complain. He quite fancied being able to hold her while she fell asleep and then waking up next to her.

"Killian?" Emma's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up from their temporary bed to her amused face. "Did you hear me?"

"Ah, sorry, love. What was that?" He asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

She smiled that adorable closed-lip, one-sided smile at him and raised one eyebrow teasingly. "I said, are you going to suffer through another night in all that leather or would you like a handmade Emma dress to sleep in?" She waved her fingers about, causing white sparks to flutter about her.

It had been years since he had worn a nightdress to bed. Pirate couldn't be bothered with them; they just slept in whatever they had on and they usually only owned that one set of clothes. But he did remember the material being very comfortable to sleep in and it would be weird if he wore his clothes to bed when they were wearing nightclothes. Plus, he was a bit curious to see what it was like to be in one of Emma's magic clouds.

"Give it a whirl, love," he acquiesced, holding his arms out slightly as if to offer himself up to her will.

He was surprised when he wasn't suddenly encased in gray smoke. Instead, Emma glanced over at Henry cautiously. Killian followed her gaze to see that the boy was laying on his side, facing away from them and that his breath was already evening out. Killian realized that the lad was already falling asleep.

He looked back to Emma to find her only a step away from him. He sucked in a breath in surprise and then held it for a moment in anticipation of the mischievousness in her eyes.

"Sometimes, magic," her hands came up to rest on his shoulders, "can be unpredictable." He slowly let his breath out as she took one last step forward to close the distance between them. Her eyes held his and her hands slowly traveled down to undo the buttons of his shirt. She began unbuttoning his shirt as she whispered in his ear, "And I wouldn't want anything to happen to this shirt, not with how... _dashing_ you look in it." When she undid the last button, she let her fingers run up his stomach and splayed her hands across his chest before running them up over his shoulders and down his arms, effectively taking off his shirt. "See? Much easier to just do the dirty work myself," she said with a wink.

Killian was saved from having to respond- and good thing, too, because he could hardly breathe, let alone speak- by a whirl of gray smoke. He was only in it for a second, before Emma's smiling face was before him once again, but he could almost swear that the little vortex smelled like _Emma._

He was broken out of his thoughts by Emma's giggle. She was looking down at his nightshirt and he felt very exposed. Somehow, even more so than the few times he had been shirtless in front of her before.

"I never thought I'd see Killian Jones in a dress," she said quietly, so as not to disturb the boy.

"Nightshirt," he corrected, glaring playfully at her. "You've had your fun, now let's get some rest, Swan. We've still got a ways to journey, yet."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" She mock saluted him, before crawling onto the mattress and scooting over to make room for him.

He got himself settled in, unattached his hook and then pulled her into his arms. After a few minutes of silence, Killian- whether from the drowsiness of fast-coming sleep or the intoxication of holding Emma close- muttered, "To be honest, I am more amazed and enamored with you everyday, Swan."

Emma was still in his arms for a few seconds, before she turned around to face him. Her small hand cupped his face and a faint glow emanated from the other one so he could see her. She starred deeply in his eyes for a few seconds, her face looking shocked and vulnerable.

"I don't know how you do it," she whispered, her eyes searching for something in his. "You just say these huge things like they're so casual to you."

Killian shook his head slightly and interrupted her. "Do not confuse my ease of complimenting you with lack of sincerity, love. I may sound...casual, as you say, but if I do it's only because I have no doubt of your worth, and every thing I say is a fact."

"Oh, I don't mean to question you," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'm just amazed by how easy it is for you to open up. I struggle everyday with everyone I love. And you have virtually no walls at all. You're an open book."

"Only when it comes to loving you," he whispered back, kissing her softly. "And, Swan? Your walls aren't some terrible thing. Protecting your heart after it's been hurt is not a fault. In fact, I quite like being the one to tear those walls down," his lips turned up in a lopsided grin.

She grinned back at him, her eyes still moist, but full of love. She pulled him down into a passionate kiss, before nuzzling her head on his chest. "I love you, Killian Jones."

"And I, you, Princess."

* * *

When they woke up the next morning, Emma happily used her magic to freshen them all up and get them back into their- now clean, thanks to magic- clothes from the day before.

"You know, this whole no shower thing might not be so bad. I can just poof us to be clean and not smelly every morning," Emma laughed happily, as she made a nice hot breakfast appear in front of them.

"How do you do it, Swan?" Killian asked with amazement as he sat down to eat.

"I don't really know," she shrugged, biting a piece of toast. Her smile morphed into a frown for a second and she glanced over at Henry worriedly, before she schooled her features, "Regina once told me that my magic was a part of me. That it's something natural and very, very powerful. So, with simple things like this, I just kind of wish the thing to appear and it does. I focus on the energy bubbling inside of me and imagine a steaming hot of coffee in my hand and-" a steaming tin cup appeared in her hand and she beamed with pride.

"Bravo, love! Well done," Killian raved, his eyes wide with awe.

"What about the nightgowns last night?" Henry asked, around a mouthful of food. He swallowed before accusing, "Did you just picture me in a dress?"

"I told you that wasn't on purpose," she looked at him pointedly. He looked down, without responding. "But to answer your question, no. I wasn't sure what they'd have in this land so I just willed you to be in something you could sleep in. I focused on my magic, pushed it out to encompass you and then kind of thought of what I wanted the end result to be; sleepwear. And you got it."

"I thought witches were supposed to know spells and potions," Killian thought aloud. He realized what he had said, a fraction of a moment too late. "Not that you're a witch, love! I just meant that, well-"

"It's alright, Killian," Emma interrupted with a smile. "I know what you meant. And the answer is they are, I guess. I just haven't really had the time to learn them, yet. When Regina was teaching me to control my magic, we were trying to defeat the Wicked Witch, so it was more about being powerful enough to fight, not knowing how to speak elvish."

Killian noticed the way both mother and son flinched at Regina's name. He didn't want them thinking too much about the past. "I suppose that makes sense," he admitted, frowning slightly at the pair's disheartened faces. "Well, let's hurry and finish this breakfast. We're burning daylight."

Within ten minutes they were on the road once more, not a trace left of the magically built and magically destroyed hut. Neither Henry nor Emma had seemed to shake off the stupor that mentioning Regina had caused, but Killian didn't want to force them into opening up if they weren't ready to, yet.

They traveled in silence for most of the day, an odd remark here or there, or a request for a rest or the water canteen was the only thing to break through the quiet between the trio.

When they made it into the port town, silence was necessary as they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves and were still on the lookout for Black Knights. It took considerably less time than Killian had assumed to secure them passage on a trade ship, which was stopping off at Arendelle for supplies along its route. The only problem was the ship wasn't leaving for a few more hours, which wasn't a long enough time to hide out in the woods, but was much too long for Killian's liking when he considered the fact that the Evil Queen was probably still after them.

Thus, they were forced to blend in with the village locals and sailors at port around them.

"Maybe we should split up," Henry suggested, as they walked around the shops and kiosks.

"That's a bad idea, kid," Emma warned. "That's when the monster starts picking people off one by one in the scary movies."

Shaking his head in confusion, Killian said, "But if they're looking for three people, isn't it better for us to split? Don't get me wrong, Swan, I don't want to leave you or the lad, but maybe that's safer."

"I don't like it," Emma countered, glancing back and forth between Killian and Henry, as if weighing her options. After a few seconds she sighed, "Fine, we'll split up. But, Henry, stay within my sights at all times. You, too, Killian. If anything happens, I need to be able to see you to poof us out of here. And here, we should all take some of the money, in case anything happens."

After divvying it up, Emma sighed again, before hugging Henry tightly and then kissing Killian roughly. It was desperate, it was passionate and it was quick. She was gone before he had a chance to return the kiss. Killian looked towards Henry to see the lad disappearing in the opposite direction of his mother.

Killian gathered his wits about him and then made himself blend in with the crowd. He kept his head low, but kept an eye out for danger. He was constantly glancing over at Emma, always making sure she was within his sights. He might not have magic, but if he saw her in any trouble he wasn't just going to let her face it by herself.

At one point, Killian let the push and pull of the crowd drag him over to a jewelry kiosk. He wasn't actually looking at any of the items, just trying to not draw attention by wandering and not shopping. But then, something caught his eye. It was a ring. A silver ring with a green gem.

He needed it. He needed to give it to her. Maybe not now, but that ring belonged on her finger. He looked at it and he knew.

Thankful that Emma had split their remaining money between the three of them, Killian called the jeweler over to ask about the ring. He was only further convinced that him finding the ring was fate by the fact that he had exactly the right amount of money for it, not a cent over.

It was meant to be. This ring called to him and it called for Emma. It belonged to her in the same way that he belonged to her.

Securing his purchase in the inside pocket of his shirt- right next to his heart- he glanced over to where he had last seen Emma. She wasn't there any more. He told himself not to panic; the plan was to move around and fit in. He scanned the surrounding area, but didn't see any sign of her. His heart started to beat a little faster. Killian walked towards the store he had seen her in front of. If only he had been paying more attention to her than to what he was doing. Now was not the time to get all sentimental and start buying wedding rings. First, he had barely known the lass a few days! Second- and more importantly- they were in danger here and he needed to be alert at all times.

He walked into the shop, but didn't see her inside. His heart was hammering away now and his palms were clammy. He would have heard it if there was any confrontation with Black Knights or the Evil Queen- right?

He practically ran outside to keep looking for her, but ran right into someone. He grabbed their arms to keep them from falling. Looking down, his heart soared with relief. It was her; it was Emma.

"Excuse me, m'lady," he said with a slight bow, to keep up appearances.

She looked relieved as well, so she had obviously noticed his disappearance, too.

"My apologies, sir," she replied with a curtsy.

That was it; that was the only comfort he got. They parted as if strangers on the street- which they were pretending to be, just in case the Queen's spies were watching. It wasn't enough. After a scare like that, he wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go. To kiss her until all his worries were forgotten and all he could think and see and hear and feel was _Emma._

There was a warmth in his chest. Where he had put the ring. It was almost like it approved of his wishes, like it was calling out for Emma to come back like he was in his mind.

He shook his head at his ridiculous thoughts. Rings didn't approve of things or call out to people. They were just rings.

Keeping an eye out for Emma and danger, Killian immersed himself back into the crowd to wait for the ship's take off.


End file.
